René Radembino Coniquet (26 June 1932 – 4 September 2014) was a Gabonese politician who served as President of the Senate of Gabon from 2006[1][2] to 2009.[3] He was a Senator from 1997 to 2014 and a long-time member of the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG).[2]
Radembino Coniquet was born in Libreville. He became Deputy Director of Finance in 1961,[1][2] Prefect of Ngounié[1] in 1962, and Secretary of the Council of Ministers in 1963. Subsequently he was Secretary-General of the Government[1][2] before being appointed as Secretary-General of the Presidency in 1967.[4] He was appointed as Minister Secretary-General of the Presidency on 12 July 1972;[5] later, he was promoted to the rank of Minister of State.[1][2] Radembino Coniquet remained Secretary-General of the Presidency until early 1994, when Mamadou Diop was appointed to succeed him.[4][6]
When the Senate was created in 1997, Radembino Coniquet was elected as a Senator from Owendo and became the President of the Commission of Laws and Administrative Affairs in the Senate[1][2] on 10 March 1997.[1] He was re-elected to the Senate in 2003.[1][2] Upon the establishment of the Pan-African Parliament in March 2004, Radembino Coniquet became one of Gabon's five representatives in that body.[7]
Later in the Senate's term, following the death of Georges Rawiri on 9 April 2006, Radembino Coniquet was elected to succeed him as President of the Senate on 24 May 2006.[2][8] Radembino Coniquet received 86 votes from the 90 senators who voted and was to serve as President of the Senate for the remainder of the Senate term, ending in 2009.[8] Rawiri had been Co-President of the Africa Caribbean Pacific - European Union (ACP-EU) Joint Parliamentary Assembly, and Radembino Coniquet was designated to succeed him in that role as well.[9]
In the January 2009 Senate election, Radembino Coniquet stood again as the PDG candidate in Owendo[11] and was re-elected to the Senate.[12][13] He retained his seat despite the fact that only a minority of Owendo's municipal councillors (who were the electors) belonged to the PDG.[13] Following that election, Rose Francine Rogombé was elected to succeed Radembino Coniquet as President of the Senate on 16 February 2009.[3]
Speaking to GabonewsinMidrand on 29 October 2009, Radembino Coniquet said that the Pan-African Parliament was working to strengthen the African Union, with the ultimate goal of establishing a continental government.[14]
Radembino Coniquet was a Vice-President of the PDG as of 2008.[15]
Radembino Coniquet died in Libreville at age 82 on the night of 3–4 September 2014.[16]
