Long-time Gabon leader Omar Bongo dies

LIBREVILLE, Gabon, June 8 (UPI) -- Omar Bongo, who became Gabon's second president in 1967, died Monday in Barcelona where he was seeking medical treatment, government officials said.

Bongo had been in Barcelona, Spain, receiving treatment for cancer but the BBC reported Prime Minister Jean Eyeghe Ndong said Bongo died of a heart attack.

Bongo ascended to the presidency when Leon M'Ba died, and has won every re-election, whether in a one-party state or in multi-party elections.

In Gabon, Bongo was viewed as charismatic and straightforward, and was popular for the relative stability of his country during his tenure.

Bongo's wealth -- he was one of the wealthiest heads of state in the world -- was attributed primarily to oil revenue proceeds and alleged corruption. In 2005, an U.S Senate probe into fundraising irregularities by lobbyist Jack Abramoff revealed that Abramoff offered to arrange a meeting between U.S. President George W. Bush and Bongo for $ 9 million. While the exchange funds remained unproven, news reports at the time reported Bush met with Bongo 10 months later in the Oval Office.

He also was cited in recent years during French criminal inquiries into hundreds of millions of euros in alleged illicit payments by Elf Aquitaine, the former French state-owned oil group. In June 2007, Bongo, along with several other African leaders, were being investigated by French magistrates on claims Bongo used millions of dollars in embezzled public funds to acquire extravagant properties in France.

Bongo was married twice and had three children. He divorced his first wife and his second wife died.