Saturday, December 03, 2011
The latest ambassador from the African nation of Gabon is a longtime public servant who spent his twenties in Boston, Massachusetts; Washington, DC; and Phoenix, Arizona; both as a college student and an early career professional. Michael Moussa-Adamo presented his credentials to President Barack Obama as ambassador of Gabon to the United States on September 9, 2011.
“I came to America as a young man in 1981 and I learned to appreciate and understand America and Americans. To come back as Ambassador is a dream come true,” Moussa recently said. Moussa’s arrival comes just three months after Gabon’s dictator, Ali Bongo Ondimba, met with President Obama to discuss regional and global issues. Gabon is one of three African countries with a seat on the United Nations Security Council.
Born January 10, 1961, in Makokou, Gabon, Moussa began his career in 1981 as a television presenter for channel 2 of Radio Television Gabon (RTG).
He arrived in the US in 1981 and earned an undergraduate degree, and his master’s degree in international relations and communications at Boston University in 1989. While at BU, he worked as a teaching assistant at the African Studies Center, and as a research assistant at the Center for International Relations (1986-1989). He also worked as a consultant at JSI/World Education (1988-1989), where he evaluated the Band Aid/Live Aid philanthropic projects.
After graduating, he went to work as a consultant for the World Wildlife Fund at its Washington, DC, headquarters (1989-1991. For four months in 1991 he joined IFESH (International Foundation for Education and Self-Help) in Phoenix, where he worked on the first African-African American Summit, which was held in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.
Upon his return to Gabon in 1991, Moussa began his career in public service with two years as Diplomatic Adviser to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. After a six-year gap in his CV, Moussa spent the last four months of 1999 as Director of Cabinet in the Ministry of National Defense.
In January 2000 he elected to a position as a deputy in the Gabonese National Assembly, although elections in Gabon do not fit the accepted definition of democratic. Moussa spent five years in the national assembly and was spokesman for the parliamentary committee on foreign affairs and defense.
In February 2007 Moussa was appointed the president’s Special Advisor and Head of Missions. He added the roles of chief of the information technology division of the Department of Communicationin October 2009 and head of the Department of Tourism, Arts, Culture, and Sports in January 2011.
He is the founder of two small consulting businesses in Gabon, MS Consulting and LOCAT.
Moussa is married and the father of six children, including three attending colleges in the United States.
-Matt Bewig, David Wallechinsky
Gabonese Ambassador Presents Credentials to President Barack Obama at White House
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