Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo

Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo (born June 5, 1942, Acoacan, Spanish Guinea [now Equatorial Guinea]) is a military leader and politician who has ruled Equatorial Guinea since seizing power from his uncle in a coup in 1979. He is among the longest-serving heads of state (excluding monarchs) in the world. His decades of authoritarian rule have been marked by human rights abuses and blatant corruption.

Early life and military career

Obiang was born into a family of the Esangui, a subset of the Fang ethnic group, the largest group in Spanish Guinea (now Equatorial Guinea). As an adult, he attended Zaragoza Military Academy (1963–65) in Spain. When Equatorial Guinea became independent in 1968, Obiang’s uncle, Francisco Macías Nguema, was the country’s first president. During his uncle’s rule, Obiang held several military and government positions, including those of military governor of the island of Fernando Po (now Bioko), director of the notorious Playa Negra prison, and deputy minister of defense. He also served as aide-de-camp to his uncle from 1975, by which time he had been promoted to lieutenant colonel.

1979 coup

Macías’s rule was extremely brutal, being rife with horrific human rights abuses, some of which Obiang was a party to. Obiang reportedly began plotting with other family members to overthrow the president after Obiang’s brother was put to death, among several other officers executed in 1979 at the behest of Macías. The bloody coup, known as the “coup for freedom,” took place on August 3, 1979. Later that month, a Supreme Military Council, with Obiang at its head, was established to govern the country. Macías was put on trial and executed in September.

Obiang’s rule

Any hope that Obiang’s rule would be significantly different from his uncle’s was short-lived. The illusion of democratic reform under him existed: he added civilians to the Supreme Military Council in 1981; oversaw the creation of a new constitution, with assistance from the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, in 1982; and presided over the promulgation of another constitution, providing for multiparty politics, in 1991. However, the 1982 constitution was criticized for granting Obiang a seven-year term as president and for giving the president far-reaching powers, and the 1991 constitution eliminated what few human rights protections had existed under the previous constitution and guaranteed that Obiang could not be prosecuted for anything he did “before, during, and after his mandate.” (In 1995 this would be amended to “The law shall govern the privileges and immunities of Heads of State after their mandate.”) In 1987 Obiang created the Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea (PDGE), which until 1991 was the only legal party in the country; it has been the ruling party since its creation. Obiang was reelected in 1989 in an election in which he ran unopposed, and he won reelection by wide margins in the multiparty contests of 1996, 2002, and 2009—all of which were widely denounced as fraudulent.

The political changes that have taken place under Obiang have done little to uplift the Equatorial Guinean population, which has continued to suffer poverty and inadequate access to basic services. Significant oil and gas deposits within the country’s maritime borders were discovered in the 1990s, and the ensuing years of extraction have generated considerable revenue, but the majority of the proceeds have been funneled to Obiang and the rest of the ruling elite, who have lived extravagant lifestyles while the rest of the population has experienced poverty. Over the years, Obiang and others in his circle—in particular, one of his sons, Teodoro (“Teodorin”) Nguema Obiang Mangue—have been targeted in investigations launched in other countries regarding allegations of embezzlement, money laundering, and misuse of public funds. Obiang’s human rights record is also poor, as he has brutally suppressed any dissent. Reports of restricted personal freedoms, harassment of opposition members, unlawful arrests, forced disappearances, and torture have been routine.

Obiang’s hold on power was fortified by constitutional changes passed in a 2011 referendum (broadly viewed as not credible) and enacted in 2012. These included the imposition of a limit of two consecutive presidential terms—which was later determined not to be retroactive and thus not applicable to Obiang’s several previous terms as president—and the elimination of an age limit for presidential candidates, which would have prevented the aging Obiang from running for president again. Another change created the position of vice president, to be appointed by the president and to be next in line for the presidency should the incumbent president die or retire. This led many to speculate that Obiang was intent on choosing who would succeed him. Later in 2012 he appointed Teodorin as second vice president, even though that position was not provided for in the recent changes to the constitution. Teodorin was widely viewed as Obiang’s choice for his successor.

Obiang stood in the 2016 and 2022 presidential elections and was reelected in a landslide both times—receiving 93.7 percent and 94.9 percent of the vote, respectively. As in previous elections, however, domestic and international observers reported irregularities in the electoral process and noted concerns about instances of intimidation, coercion, and unfair campaign practices, which cast doubt on the credibility of the results.

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Human rights abuses persisted under Obiang, though he occasionally made efforts to placate those calling for reform. In 2014 he announced that he was granting amnesty to political opponents as one of his efforts to prepare for a national dialogue, to be held later that year, with opposition parties, civil society groups, and other stakeholders. However, that discussion did not result in much meaningful change, and many political opponents remained in prison. He held a similar event in 2018, though it was boycotted and denounced as a public relations exercise by a leading opposition figure. In 2022 Obiang signed into law a measure that abolished the death penalty, which was heralded as a positive step.

Threats to power

Since taking power, Obiang has been wary of plotters scheming to depose or assassinate him. Consequently, he has used foreigners to make up his presidential guard detail. Over the decades, his regime has repeatedly claimed that it was the subject of attempted coups, but many of the allegations have not been confirmed. One notable confirmed coup plot was discovered in 2004. Sometimes referred to as the Wonga coup, the plot involved dozens of foreign mercenaries, millions of dollars, the removal of Obiang, and the installation of exiled opposition leader Severo Moto in his place. However, through the efforts of officials in multiple African countries, the plot was foiled before it could be carried out.

UNESCO prize controversy

In 2008 Obiang sponsored the establishment of the UNESCO–Obiang Nguema Mbasogo International Prize for Research in the Life Sciences, providing a $3 million endowment. However, the prize generated much controversy in 2010, when it was to be awarded for the first time, given Obiang’s poor human rights record, the long-standing allegations that he had siphoned his country’s oil revenue for his personal use, and the poor quality of life that most Equatorial Guineans were subjected to. UNESCO postponed conferring the award until 2012, having renamed it the UNESCO–Equatorial Guinea International Prize for Research in the Life Sciences.