:Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo

From a family of the Esangui ethnic clan, Obiang was born on 5 June 1942 in the town of Akoacám (Mongomo district, Wele-Nzas province),{{cite book|editor-last=Turner|editor-first=Barry|title=The Statesman's Yearbook 2007: The Politics, Cultures and Economies of the World|date=2006|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK|page=443|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zzQUDgAAQBAJ|isbn=978-0-2302-7-1357}} belonging to the colony of Spanish Guinea, on the current border with Gabon, within the Continental Equatorial Guinea. Son of the Gabonese Santiago Nguema Eneme Obama and María Mbasogo Ngui, he was the third of ten brothers, among whom are also the National Security Delegate Armengol Ondo Nguema and former National Defense Minister {{ill|Antonio Mba Nguema|es}}. Obiang's parents emigrated from Gabon to avoid paying capitation taxes and take advantage of the good economic situation in Spanish Guinea. After the death of María Mbasogo Ngui, Obiang and his brothers were raised by his father and his new wife Carmen Mikue Mbira.

Obiang completed his first studies at the Cardenal Cisneros School Group in Ebibeyin and at the La Salle Center in Bata (now the Enrique Nvo Okenve National College), where he obtained a degree in labor administration.

Obiang joined the Colonial Guard during Equatorial Guinea's colonial period and attended the General Military Academy in Zaragoza, Spain. He achieved the rank of lieutenant after his uncle, Francisco Macías Nguema, was elected the country's first president. Under Macías, Obiang held various positions, including the governor of Bioko and leader of the National Guard.{{cite web |title=The Pariah President: Teodoro Obiang is a brutal dictator responsible for thousands of deaths. So why is he treated like an elder statesman on the world stage? |first=Dan |last=Gardner |date=6 November 2005 |publisher=The Ottawa Citizen (reprint: dangardner.ca)

|url=http://www.dangardner.ca/Featnov605.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080612161320/http://www.dangardner.ca/Featnov605.html |archive-date=12 June 2008}} He was also head of Black Beach Prison, notorious for severely torturing its inmates.

{{further|1979 Equatorial Guinea coup d'état}}

File:Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo se reúne con el presidente de Guinea Ecuatorial. Pool Moncloa. 13 de mayo de 1982.jpeg in 1982]]

After Macías ordered the murders of several members of the family they shared, including Obiang's brother, Obiang and others in Macías's inner circle feared the president had become insane. Obiang overthrew his uncle on 3 August 1979 in a bloody coup d'état, and placed him on trial for his actions, including the genocide of the Bubi people, over the previous decade. Macías was sentenced to death and executed by firing squad on 29 September 1979. A new Moroccan presidential guard was required to form the firing squad, because local soldiers feared his alleged magical powers.{{cite web |author=Steve Bloomfield |date=13 May 2007 |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/teodoro-obiang-nguema-a-brutal-bizarre-jailer-448575.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081219113546/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/teodoro-obiang-nguema-a-brutal-bizarre-jailer-448575.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=19 December 2008 |title=Teodoro Obiang Nguema: A brutal, bizarre jailer |work=The Independent |access-date=21 October 2010}}

Obiang declared that the new government would make a fresh start from Macías's brutal and repressive régime. He granted amnesty to political prisoners, and ended the previous régime's system of forced labor. He also reversed the previous régime's most repressive measures; Obiang unbanned glasses and Christianity, which were previously banned during his uncle's régime. However, he made virtually no mention of his own role in the atrocities committed under it.

The country nominally returned to civilian rule in 1982, with the enactment of a slightly less authoritarian constitution. At the same time, Obiang was elected to a seven-year term as president; he was the only candidate. He was sworn in on 12 October, the 14th anniversary of the country's independence from Spain. He was reelected in 1989, again as the only candidate. After other parties were nominally allowed to organize in 1992, he was reelected in 1996 and 2002 with 98 percent of the voteBloomfield, Steve (13 May 2007) [https://web.archive.org/web/20081219113546/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/teodoro-obiang-nguema-a-brutal-bizarre-jailer-448575.html "Teodoro Obiang Nguema: A brutal, bizarre jailer"] The Independent, last accessed 21 October 2010 in elections condemned as fraudulent by international observers.United States Central Intelligence Agency (2009) CIA World Factbook 2010 Skyhorse Pub Co Inc., New York, [https://books.google.com/books?id=pqanFyF6nI0C&pg=PA214 page 214], {{ISBN|978-1-60239-727-9}} In 2002, for instance, at least one voting district was recorded as giving Obiang 103 percent of the vote.

He was reelected for a fourth term in 2009 with 97% of the vote, again amid accusations of voter fraud and intimidation,Tran, Mark (30 November 2009) [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/nov/30/president-equatorial-guinea-extends-rule "President Nguema of Equatorial Guinea on course to extend three-decade rule"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312113556/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/nov/30/president-equatorial-guinea-extends-rule |date=12 March 2016 }} The Guardian, last accessed 21 October 2010 beating opposition leader Plácido Micó Abogo.{{cite web|url=http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=86&art_id=nw20091201123131144C604920|title=Nguema wins re-election|publisher=Iol.co.za|access-date=12 October 2014|archive-date=21 December 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091221154247/http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=86&art_id=nw20091201123131144C604920|url-status=live}}

File:80th Anniversary Kim Il-Sung.jpg's 80th birthday anniversary in April 1992]]

Obiang's rule is considered more humane and less authoritarian and corrupt than that of his uncle. By some accounts, however, it has become increasingly brutal, and has bucked the larger trend toward greater democracy in Africa. According to most domestic and international observers, he leads one of the most corrupt, ethnocentric and repressive regimes in the world. Equatorial Guinea is essentially a one-party state dominated by Obiang's Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea (PDGE). The constitution grants Obiang sweeping powers, including the power to rule by decree.

Although opposition parties were legalized in 1992, the legislature remains dominated by the PDGE, and there is no substantive opposition to executive decisions. There have never been more than eight opposition deputies in the lower house, while the PDGE has held every seat in the Senate since its inception in 2013. For all intents and purposes, Obiang holds all governing power in the nation.

The opposition is barely tolerated; indeed, a 2006 article in Der Spiegel quoted Obiang as asking, "What right does the opposition have to criticize the actions of a government?" The opposition is severely hampered by the lack of a free press as a vehicle for their views. There are no newspapers and all broadcast media are either owned outright by the government or controlled by its allies.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}}

File:Secretary Rice and President Obiang.jpg with Obiang in 2006]]

Equatorial Guinea's relations with the United States cooled in 1993, after Ambassador John E. Bennett was accused of practicing witchcraft at the graves of 10 British airmen who were killed when their plane crashed there during World War II. Bennett left after receiving a death threat at the U.S. Embassy in Malabo in 1994.{{cite web|url=https://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2005/01/12_400.html|title=A Touch of Crude|work=Mother Jones|access-date=1 December 2014|archive-date=13 January 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090113153221/http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2005/01/12_400.html|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2001/05/14/a-matter-of-honor-in-a-jungle-graveyard/9472c893-963b-44eb-ba45-3a18275a0f29/|title=A Matter of 'Honor' In a Jungle Graveyard|author=Douglas Farah|date=14 May 2001|access-date=19 November 2017|newspaper=Washington Post|archive-date=1 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201045802/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2001/05/14/a-matter-of-honor-in-a-jungle-graveyard/9472c893-963b-44eb-ba45-3a18275a0f29/|url-status=live}} In his farewell address, he publicly named the government's most notorious torturers, including Equatorial Guinea's Minister of National Security, Manuel Nguema Mba, another Obiang uncle. No new envoy was appointed, and the embassy was closed in 1996, leaving its affairs to be handled by the embassy in neighboring Cameroon.

Things turned around for the Obiang regime after the September 11 attacks, after which the United States re-prioritized its dealings with key African states. On 25 January 2002, the Institute for Advanced Strategic and Political Studies, a neoconservative Israeli-based think tank, sponsored a forum on 15 May 2006.{{Cite web|url=http://www.iasps.org/strategic/africawhitepaper.pdf|title=African Oil: A Priority for U.S. National Security and African Development|date=15 May 2006|access-date=25 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060515001846/http://www.iasps.org/strategic/africawhitepaper.pdf|archive-date=15 May 2006}} Speaking at the IASPS forum, Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Walter H. Kansteiner said, "African oil is of national strategic interest to us, and it will increase and become more important as we move forward."[http://www.iasps.org/strategic/africawhitepaper.pdf] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060515001846/http://www.iasps.org/strategic/africawhitepaper.pdf|date=15 May 2006}}

File:P20221215AS-1181 (52651359240).jpg at the United States–Africa Leaders Summit in December 2022]]

In a lengthy state visit from March to April 2006, President Obiang sought to reopen the closed embassy in the US, saying that "the lack of a U.S. diplomatic presence is definitely holding back economic growth."{{cite news |title=Equatorial Guinea Goes from Rags to Riches With Oil Boom |author=Larry Luxner |url=http://www.washdiplomat.com/01-08/a2_08_01.html |date=August 2001 |access-date=1 November 2007 |postscript=; Larry Luxner is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928044756/http://www.washdiplomat.com/01-08/a2_08_01.html |archive-date=28 September 2007 }} President Obiang was warmly greeted by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who called him a "good friend".{{Cite web|url = https://2001-2009.state.gov/secretary/rm/2006/64434.htm|title = Remarks with Equatorial Guinean President Obiang Before Their Meeting|date = 12 April 2006|access-date = 23 May 2019|archive-date = 11 September 2019|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190911212041/https://2001-2009.state.gov/secretary/rm/2006/64434.htm|url-status = live}}

Public relations company Cassidy & Associates may have been partially responsible for the change in tone between Obiang and the United States government. Since 2004, Cassidy had been employed by the dictator's government at a rate of at least $120,000 a month.{{cite magazine |last=Kurlantzick |first=Joshua |title=Putting Lipstick on a Dictator |magazine=Mother Jones |date=May 2007 |url=https://www.motherjones.com/news/outfront/2007/05/extreme_makeover.html |access-date=22 August 2007 |archive-date=14 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070914054735/http://www.motherjones.com/news/outfront/2007/05/extreme_makeover.html |url-status=live }}

By October 2006, however, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee had raised concerns about the proposal to build the new embassy on land owned by Obiang, whom the United Nations Commission on Human Rights accused of directly overseeing the torture of opponents.{{cite magazine |url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,434691,00.html |title=Rich in Oil, Poor in Human Rights: Torture and Poverty in Equatorial Guinea |author=Alexander Smoltczyk |magazine=Der Spiegel |date=28 August 2006 |access-date=1 April 2007 |archive-date=11 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120211024211/http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,434691,00.html |url-status=live }} The new embassy chancery opened in 2013.{{cite web|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2013/218626.htm|title=United States Dedicates New U.S. Embassy in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea|work=U.S. Department of State|access-date=23 May 2019|archive-date=29 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210829181912/https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2013/218626.htm|url-status=live}}

Cameroon

Equatorial Guinea has cordial relations with neighbouring Cameroon, although there was criticism in Cameroon in 2000 about perceived mistreatment of Cameroonians working in Equatorial Guinea. Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea have an unresolved maritime border dispute. The majority Fang ethnic group of mainland Equatorial Guinea extends both north and south into the forests of Cameroon and Gabon. Cameroon exports some food products to Equatorial Guinea and imports oil from Equatorial Guinea for its refinery at nearby Limbe.{{cn|date=October 2023}}

In December 2008, Equatorial Guinea security forces killed a Cameroonian fisherman and abducted two immigrants, Cameroon closed its border in response.{{cn|date=October 2023}}

North Korea

File:Third GECF summit in Tehran 04.jpg Hassan Rouhani in 2015]]

In the 1970s Equatorial Guinea signed military, technical and economic agreements with many socialist states, which included North Korea. North Korea sent troops to Equatorial Guinea so they could be used as advisors. After Francisco Macías Nguema was overthrown and executed by his nephew Teodoro Obiang in 1979, his family fled to Pyongyang, where his three children were raised by the North Korean government. One of them, Mónica, left the DPRK in 1994 after fifteen years.

Despite this, close relations continued after the coup, and remain active. In 2011 Yang Hyong-sop, Vice President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, made a four-day visit to Equatorial Guinea. In 2013 President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo was presented the first International Kim Jong Il Prize by a North Korean delegation.{{cn|date=October 2023}} In 2016, Kim Yong-nam of North Korea visited Equatorial Guinea and held amicable talks with President Teodoro Obiang. In 2018, Equatorial Guinea reported that it had severed economic ties with North Korea and repatriated North Korean workers in line with United Nations sanctions. However, North Korea reported continued friendly relations. {{Citation needed|reason=No sources pertaining to any information relating to North Korea|date=October 2023}}

Russia

File:Владимир Путин с Президентом Экваториальной Гвинеи.jpg on 26 September 2024]]

On 26 September 2024, Obiang visited Moscow and had a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin emphasized that Russia and equatorial Guinea have successfully cooperated in OPEC+.{{cite news |title=Equatorial Guinea's president visits Russia for diplomatic talks |url=https://www.africanews.com/2024/09/26/equatorial-guineas-president-visits-russia-for-diplomatic-talks/ |work=Africanews |date=26 September 2024}}

Spain

In August 1979, Spain offered to help Francisco Macías Nguema during the coup. Between 1979 and 1983, Spain sent Equatorial Guinea 15 million Spanish pesetas for the development of the nation. Relations between both nations almost severed again due to debt renegotiation in 1983 and the fact that Equatorial Guinea owed Spain over 6 million Spanish pesetas. Agreements were made before more drastic measures were taken. During the 2004 coup d'état attempt, President Obiang accused Spain of knowing about the coup attempt and for sending two Spanish warships to the region, however, Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznar denied the allegations that the ships were there to assist in the coup.

In 2016, trade between Equatorial Guinea and Spain totaled €748 million Euros.{{Cite web |url=http://www.icex.es/icex/es/navegacion-principal/todos-nuestros-servicios/informacion-de-mercados/paises/navegacion-principal/el-pais/relaciones-bilaterales/index.html?idPais=GQ |title=Relaciones económicas y comerciales de España con el conjunto de la región: Guinea Ecuatorial (in Spanish) |access-date=3 June 2023 |archive-date=29 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220529042710/https://www.icex.es/icex/es/navegacion-principal/todos-nuestros-servicios/informacion-de-mercados/paises/navegacion-principal/el-pais/relaciones-bilaterales/index.html?idPais=GQ |url-status=live }} 90% of Equatorial Guinea's exports to Spain is in oil. Spain's main exports to Equatorial Guinea include: drinks, furniture and lamps, mechanical equipment, automobiles and trucks, and electronic material. Spain's has €3 million Euros of investment in Equatorial Guinea, mainly in the construction industry. At the same time, Equatorial Guinea's investment in Spain totals €4 million Euros. Equatorial Guinea is Spain's ninth biggest trading partner from Africa (78th largest globally). Spain is Equatorial Guinea's third biggest trading partner globally (after China and the United States).

The economy of this small nation continued to struggle under President Obiang, with the country depending mostly on foreign aid to pay its bills. This changed in 1995 when ExxonMobil discovered oil in the country. Massive offshore discoveries over the past decade have boosted oil to about 380,000 barrels per day, ranking Equatorial Guinea behind only Nigeria and Angola among Sub-Saharan African producers.

As expected, income from petroleum led to a boom and the country experienced rapid economic growth. According to UNESCO, the country has the highest adult literacy rate in sub-Saharan Africa, with an average of 95 per cent.{{cn|date=October 2023}} It also has the highest per capita income in Africa. More than three-quarters of the population live below the poverty line, according to data from the World bank.{{cn|date=October 2023}} This wealth is distributed extremely unevenly and most of it is concentrated in the hands of the ruling family.

President Obiang has a net worth of $600 million, according to Forbes, meaning he is easily one of the world’s richest heads of state,{{cn|date=October 2023}} while the country's HDI ranks 145th out of 191. The vast majority of the oil revenue of Equatorial Guinea has been siphoned under the guise of funding large infrastructure projects executed by contractors with ties to President Obiang’s inner circle. Education and health receive an average of 2–3 per cent of the budget, while extraction has already been declining since 2012 and oil reserves are estimated to dry out by 2035.{{cite news |last1=Agbo |first1=Osmund |title=Teodoro Obiang Mbasogo: Resource curse and an African despot |url=https://www.premiumtimesng.com/opinion/503442-teodoro-obiang-mbasogo-resource-curse-and-african-despot-by-osmund-agbo.html |access-date=1 August 2023 |work=Premium Times |date=31 December 2021 |archive-date=1 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230801012230/https://www.premiumtimesng.com/opinion/503442-teodoro-obiang-mbasogo-resource-curse-and-african-despot-by-osmund-agbo.html |url-status=live }}

===New capital city===

In 2012 Obiang ordered the construction of a new planned city, Ciudad de la Paz.{{Cite web |last=Fortin |first=Jacey |date=2012-12-19 |title=A Dazzling Capital City Rises Amid Poverty In Equatorial Guinea |url=https://www.ibtimes.com/poverty-stricken-equatorial-guinea-builds-expensive-capital-city-middle-nowhere-949224 |access-date=2024-10-24 |website=International Business Times |language=en-US}} The location was chosen for its easy access and milder climate. It is notably on the mainland, in contrast to Malabo, which is on the island of Bioko. It was designed by the Portuguese Studio for Architecture and Urbanism FAT – Future Architecture Thinking. It is projected to have around 200,000 inhabitants,[http://www.abc.es/internacional/20121226/abci-oyala-nueva-capital-obiang-201212251815.html Oyala, una nueva capital para la megalomanía de Obiang] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160415213112/http://www.abc.es/internacional/20121226/abci-oyala-nueva-capital-obiang-201212251815.html |date=15 April 2016 }}. abc.es. 26 December 2012 a new Parliament building, a number of presidential villas and an area of 8150 hectares.[http://www.piniweb.com.br/construcao/urbanismo/arquitetos-portugueses-projetam-nova-capital-para-guine-equatorial-240902-1.asp Arquitetos portugueses projetam nova capital para Guiné Equatorial] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510212439/http://www.piniweb.com.br/construcao/urbanismo/arquitetos-portugueses-projetam-nova-capital-para-guine-equatorial-240902-1.asp |date=10 May 2013 }}. piniweb.com.br. 10 November 2011Mauricio Lima (4 November 2011) [http://www.greensavers.pt/2011/11/04/atelie-portugues-desenha-futura-capital-da-guine-equatorial/ Ateliê português desenha futura capital da Guiné Equatorial] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120122153733/http://www.greensavers.pt/2011/11/04/atelie-portugues-desenha-futura-capital-da-guine-equatorial/ |date=22 January 2012 }}. greensavers.pt. The construction of this new capital has been criticised by the political opposition to Obiang, the driving force behind the initiative. The Government of Equatorial Guinea began to move to the city in early 2017.BBC [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-38911573 Equatorial Guinea government moves to new city in rainforest] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170928104720/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-38911573 |date=28 September 2017 }}

Funding is provided through AICEP Portugal Global. The plans come from a Portuguese architectural office. The construction work will be supported by China, Poland, Brazil and North Korea.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20731448 |title=BBC News: Equatorial Guinea: Obiang's future capital, which was then known as Oyala |author=Stephen Sackur |work=BBC News|date=17 December 2012 |access-date=5 February 2013 |archive-date=2 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130202073455/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20731448 |url-status=live }} Construction faces delays such as, according to unconfirmed reports, President Obiang ordered a building to be moved because he did not like the view. Additionally, all materials are imported.

In 2006, Obiang signed an anti-torture decree banning all forms of abuse and improper treatment in Equatorial Guinea, and commissioned the renovation and modernization of Black Beach prison in 2007 to ensure the humane treatment of prisoners.[https://web.archive.org/web/20090802044807/http://www.mpri.com/esite/index.php/content/services/organizational_reform_amp_institutional_capacity_building/ Organizational Reform & Institutional Capacity-Building]. MPRI. Retrieved on 5 May 2013. However, human rights abuses have continued. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International among other non-governmental organizations have documented severe human rights abuses in prisons, including torture, beatings, unexplained deaths and illegal detention.[https://www.amnesty.org/en/region/equatorial-guinea/report-2009 Equatorial Guinea | Amnesty International]. Amnesty.org. Retrieved on 5 May 2013. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141101024443/http://www.amnesty.org/en/region/equatorial-guinea/report-2009|date=1 November 2014}}[https://www.hrw.org/en/world-report-2009/equatorial-guinea Equatorial Guinea | Human Rights Watch] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141028011820/http://www.hrw.org/en/world-report-2009/equatorial-guinea |date=28 October 2014 }}. Hrw.org. Retrieved on 5 May 2013.

In their most recently publishing findings (2020), Transparency International awarded Equatorial Guinea a total score of 16 on their Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). CPI ranks countries by their perceived level of public corruption where zero is very corrupt and 100 is extremely clean. As of 2023, Equatorial Guinea is the 120th lowest scoring nation out of a total of 180 countries. Freedom House, a pro-democracy and human rights NGO, described Obiang as one of the world's "most kleptocratic living autocrats", and complained about the US government welcoming his administration and buying oil from it.{{cite web |date=13 June 2012 |title=Equatorial Guinea: Ignorance worth fistfuls of dollars. |url=https://freedomhouse.org/blog/equatorial-guinea-ignorance-worth-fistfuls-dollars |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120623093439/https://freedomhouse.org/blog/equatorial-guinea-ignorance-worth-fistfuls-dollars |archive-date=23 June 2012 |access-date=19 January 2017 |work=Freedom House}}

{{Main|Capital punishment in Equatorial Guinea}}

In September 2022, Obiang signed a law which officially abolished the death penalty and declared it an illegal punishment, even though the last execution took place in 2014, eight years earlier. This was seen as a slight improvement in human rights in the country and this move was praised internationally.{{cite web|url=https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/equatorial-guinea-becomes-25th-african-country-to-abolish-death-penalty|title=Equatorial Guinea Becomes 25th Africian Country to Abolish Death Penalty|work=Death Penalty Information Center|date=20 September 2022}}

Although there are no laws against homosexuality in Equatorial Guinea, the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) reported "there is evidence that State intimidation of sexually diverse individuals persists." The criminal code in force in Equatorial Guinea is a revision of the Spanish Criminal Code that dates back to the Francoist era and is said to post-colonially carry homophobic undertones that influence those perception today.{{cite web|url=http://old.ilga.org/Statehomophobia/ILGA_State_Sponsored_Homophobia_2013.pdf |title=State-sponsored Homophobia: A world survey of laws prohibiting same sex activity between consenting adults |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130717085454/http://old.ilga.org/Statehomophobia/ILGA_State_Sponsored_Homophobia_2013.pdf |archivedate=17 July 2013 }}[http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/dem_hom_law_of_the_wor_hom_law_law_aga_hom-democracy-homosexuality-laws-world-against Homosexuality laws around the world] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130404052639/http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/dem_hom_law_of_the_wor_hom_law_law_aga_hom-democracy-homosexuality-laws-world-against |date=4 April 2013 }}, NationMaster.com The age of consent is set at 18, regardless of gender and/or sexual orientation.

File:Teodoro Obiang with Lula da Silva, 1650FRP075.jpg in 2008]]

In July 2003, state-operated radio declared Obiang "the country's God" with "all power over men and things." It added that the president was "in permanent contact with the Almighty" and "can decide to kill without anyone calling him to account and without going to hell." He personally made similar comments in 1993. His uncle and predecessor Macías had also proclaimed himself a god.{{cite news |title=Equatorial Guinea's 'God' |access-date=1 November 2007 |publisher=BBC |date=26 July 2003 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3098007.stm |archive-date=28 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728131339/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3098007.stm |url-status=live }} Despite these comments however, Obiang still claims that he is a devout Catholic and was invited to the Vatican by Pope John Paul II and again by Pope Benedict XVI.

Obiang has encouraged his cult of personality by ensuring that public speeches end in well-wishing for himself rather than for the nation as a whole. Many important buildings have a presidential lodge, many towns and cities have streets commemorating Obiang's coup against Macías, and many people wear clothes with his face printed on them.Maass, Peter (2005) [http://motherjones.com/politics/2005/01/obiang-equatorial-guinea-oil-riggs "A Touch of Crude"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220901035123/http://motherjones.com/politics/2005/01/obiang-equatorial-guinea-oil-riggs |date=1 September 2022 }} Mother Jones 30 (1): pp. 48–89Silverstein, Ken (2010) [http://www.petroleumworld.com/sati10061901.htm "Saturday Lagniappe: UNESCO for Sale: Dictators allowed to buy their own prizes, for the right price"] Petroleumworld, originally published by Harpers Magazine, 2 June 2010, archived at [http://www.freezepage.com/1287676231QTNSPIRBQH?url=http://www.petroleumworld.com/sati10061901.htm Freezepage]

Like his predecessor and other African strongmen such as Idi Amin and Mobutu Sese Seko, Obiang has assigned himself several creative titles. Among them are "gentleman of the great island of Bioko, Annobón and Río Muni.""In his address at UNESCO's annual meeting of governments on 30 October 2007 the "Gentleman of the great island of Bioko, Annobón and Río Muni", "a God who is 'in permanent contact with the Almighty'” and "can decide to kill without anyone calling him to account and without going to hell" His Excellence, President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, ..." Kabanda (3 October 2010) [http://www.newtimes.co.rw/index.php?issue=14262&article=6879 "Money for good causes: does the source matter?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927134610/http://www.newtimes.co.rw/index.php?issue=14262&article=6879 |date=27 September 2011 }} Sunday Times (Rwanda), premium content that requires login, last accessed 21 October 2010 He also refers to himself as El Jefe (the boss).Staff (28 September 2010) [http://news.za.msn.com/gallery.aspx?cp-documentid=154791786&page=3 "Africa's Worst Dictators: Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110823055030/http://news.za.msn.com/gallery.aspx?cp-documentid=154791786&page=3 |date=23 August 2011 }} MSN News (South Africa), archived at [http://www.freezepage.com/1287677237QLFEJNZVIL?url=http://news.za.msn.com/gallery.aspx?cp-documentid%3D154791786%26page%3D3 Freezepage]

In 2008, American journalist Peter Maass called Obiang Africa's worst dictator, worse than Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe. While he was researching a book on the country's oil boom in 2004, Maass recalled that no one approached him on the streets. He believed that the only time he had encountered a more docile populace was in North Korea.{{cite news |last=Maass |first=Peter |author-link=Peter Maass |title=Who's Africa's Worst Dictator? |url=http://www.slate.com/id/2193870/ |publisher=The Washington Post Company |work=Slate |date=24 June 2008 |access-date=30 June 2008 |quote=But Mugabe may not be Africa's worst. That prize arguably goes to Teodoro Obiang, the ruler of Equatorial Guinea |archive-date=29 June 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080629223427/http://www.slate.com/id/2193870 |url-status=live }}

In an October 2012 interview on CNN, Christiane Amanpour asked Obiang whether he would step down at the end of his current term (2009–2016) since he had been reelected at least four times in his reign of over thirty years. In his response, Obiang categorically refused to step down despite term limits in the 2011 constitution.{{cite news|url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1210/05/ampr.01.html|title=Interview with President Teodoro Obiang of Equatorial Guinea|publisher=Transcripts.cnn.com|access-date=6 July 2013|archive-date=1 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130601125433/http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1210/05/ampr.01.html|url-status=live}}

File:Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo with Obamas.jpg and First Lady Michelle with Obiang and his wife, First Lady Constancia Mangue in 2009]]

Abuses under Obiang have included "unlawful killings by security forces; government-sanctioned kidnappings; systematic torture of prisoners and detainees by security forces; life-threatening conditions in prisons and detention facilities; impunity; arbitrary arrest, detention, and incommunicado detention."United States State Department (25 February 2009) [https://web.archive.org/web/20090226175326/http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2008/af/118999.htm "2008 Human Rights Report: Equatorial Guinea"], archived at [http://www.freezepage.com/1287677008YSVRPSPIOB?url=https://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2008/af/118999.htm Freezepage]

The few private media outlets in the country are largely owned by people close to Obiang. Freedoms of association and of assembly are severely curtailed, and the government imposes restrictive conditions on the registration and operation of nongovernmental organizations. The few local activists who work on human rights-related issues often face intimidation, harassment, and reprisals.Human Rights Watch (2018) [https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2019/country-chapters/equatorial-guinea "World Report 2018: Equatorial Guinea"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190505000750/https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2019/country-chapters/equatorial-guinea |date=5 May 2019 }}

{{See also|Biens mal acquis}}

File:Manmohan Singh attends the Opening Plenary Session of 2nd Africa-India Forum Summit (AIFS), in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on May 24, 2011. The President of Equatorial Guinea, Mr. Obiang Nguema Mbasogo is also seen.jpg in 2011]]

Forbes has said that Obiang, with a net worth of US$600 million, is one of the world's wealthiest heads of state.{{cite magazine |magazine=Forbes |url=https://www.forbes.com/2006/05/04/rich-kings-dictators_cz_lk_0504royals.html |title=Fortunes of Kings, Queens And Dictators |date=5 May 2006 |access-date=15 September 2017 |archive-date=19 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110219084918/http://www.forbes.com/2006/05/04/rich-kings-dictators_cz_lk_0504royals.html |url-status=live }} and [https://www.forbes.com/2006/05/03/cz_forbes_0522_royals_slide_8.html part of a slideshow] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171029180012/https://www.forbes.com/2006/05/03/cz_forbes_0522_royals_slide_8.html |date=29 October 2017 }}

In 2003, Obiang told his citizenry that he felt compelled to take full control of the national treasury in order to prevent civil servants from being tempted to engage in corrupt practices. Obiang then deposited more than half a billion dollars into more than sixty accounts controlled by himself and his family at Riggs Bank in Washington, D.C., leading a U.S. federal court to fine the bank $16 million for allowing him to do so.{{cite news |author=Ken Silverstein |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030206213146/http://www.latimes.com/ |title=Oil Boom Enriches African Ruler: While the people of Equatorial Guinea live on a dollar a day, sources say their leader controls more than $300 million in a Washington bank |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |archive-date=6 February 2003 |url=http://www.latimes.com |author-link=Ken Silverstein }} [http://globalpolicy.igc.org/security/natres/oil/2003/0122gui.htm Alt URL]{{Dead link|date=November 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} A United States Senate investigation in 2004 found that the Washington-based Riggs Bank had

taken $300 million in payments on behalf of Obiang from ExxonMobil and Hess Corporation.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13317174 |work=BBC News |title=Equatorial Guinea profile |date=24 January 2012 |access-date=20 June 2018 |archive-date=16 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180716225956/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13317174 |url-status=live }}

File:Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo with Obamas 2014.jpg

In 2008, the country became a candidate for the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative – an international project meant to promote openness about government oil revenues – but never qualified and missed the April 2010 deadline. Transparency International includes Equatorial Guinea on its list of twelve most corrupt states.{{cite web

| title =First launched in 1995, the Corruption Perceptions Index has been widely credited with putting the issue of corruption on the international policy agenda.

| work =Transparency International

| url =http://www.transparency.org/policy_research/surveys_indices/cpi/2009/cpi_2009_table

| access-date =2 February 2012

| archive-date =12 January 2019

| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20190112022807/https://www.transparency.org/

| url-status =dead

}}

Beginning in 2007, Obiang and several other African state leaders came under investigation for corruption and fraudulent use of funds. He was suspected of using public funds to finance private mansions and other luxuries for both himself and his family. He and his son, in particular, owned several properties and supercars in France. Several complaints were also filed in US courts against Obiang's son. Attorneys stressed that the funds appropriated by the Obiangs were taken quite legally under Equatoguinean laws, even though those laws might not agree with international standards.{{cite web |last=de la Baume |first=Maia |title=A French Shift on Africa Strips a Dictator's Son of his Treasures |work=The New York Times |date=23 August 2012 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/24/world/europe/for-obiangs-son-high-life-in-paris-is-over.html |access-date=28 February 2017 |archive-date=23 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220923173431/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/24/world/europe/for-obiangs-son-high-life-in-paris-is-over.html |url-status=live }}

The U.S. Department of Justice alleged that Obiang and his son had appropriated hundreds of millions of dollars through corruption.{{cite web |title=DC Mee. ting Set with President Obiang as Corruption Details Emerge |work=Global Witness |date=15 June 2012 |url=http://www.globalwitness.org/library/dc-meeting-set-president-obiang-corruption-details-emerge |access-date=27 December 2013 |archive-date=3 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403050646/http://www.globalwitness.org/library/dc-meeting-set-president-obiang-corruption-details-emerge |url-status=live }} In 2011 and early 2012, many assets were seized from Obiang and his son by the French and American governments, including mansions, wine collections, and supercars. The United States, France and Spain have all investigated the Obiang family's use of public funds. The corruption investigation is ongoing.{{cite web |last=Alford |first=Roger |title=United States v. One White, Crystal-Covered "Bad Tour" Glove |work=Huffington Post |date=18 October 2011 |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/roger-alford/united-states-v-one-white_b_1018310.html |access-date=27 December 2013 |archive-date=27 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131227090816/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/roger-alford/united-states-v-one-white_b_1018310.html |url-status=live }}

File:Third GECF summit in Tehran 20.jpg

Obiang, his cabinet and his family allegedly have received billions in undisclosed oil revenue each year from the nation's oil production. Marathon Oil purchased land from Abayak, Obiang's personal investment vehicle, for more than $2 million; in June 2004 the sale was pending but Marathon had already made a $611,000 first payment with a check made out to Obiang. Marathon also was involved in a joint venture to operate two gas plants with GEOGAM, a quasi-state firm in which Abayak controlled a 75% stake.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2005/01/obiang-equatorial-guinea-oil-riggs/|title=A Touch of Crude: American bankers handled his loot. Oil companies play by his rules. The Bush administration woos him. How the pursuit of oil is propping up the West African dictatorship of Teodoro Obiang.|author=Penter Maass|issue=January/February|year=2005|magazine=Mother Jones|access-date=9 July 2018|archive-date=1 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220901035123/https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2005/01/obiang-equatorial-guinea-oil-riggs/|url-status=live}}

Although the cabinet has made moderate increases in social spending, these remain far overshadowed by the spending on, for instance, presidential palaces. In addition, the Obiang administration has been characterized by harassment of dissenters and foreign officials seeking to report on conditions.{{cite web |last=Attiah |first=Karen |title=How an African Dictator Pays for Influence |work=Huffington Post |date=7 August 2012 |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-morningside-post/equatorial-guinea-human-rights_b_1749308.html |access-date=27 December 2013 |archive-date=12 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160812015309/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-morningside-post/equatorial-guinea-human-rights_b_1749308.html |url-status=live }}

Obiang filed a libel lawsuit in a French court against an organization he believed was demeaning his image by saying that his government had committed such acts, but the case was dismissed.{{cite web |title=Equatorial Guinea's President, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, Skips FAO Address |work=Huffington Post |date=17 October 2011 |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/17/teodoro-obiang-nguema-mbasogo-fao_n_1015215.html |access-date=27 December 2013 |archive-date=27 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131227091049/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/17/teodoro-obiang-nguema-mbasogo-fao_n_1015215.html |url-status=live }}

File:Teodoro Obiang & Vladimir Putin.jpg at the Russia–Africa Summit in Sochi in 2019]]

Obiang has made several pledges to commit to open governance, reduce corruption, increase transparency, and improve the quality of life and uphold the basic freedoms of his citizens.{{citation needed|date=July 2014}} Critics say that Obiang's government has made very little progress toward this goal, however.{{cite web| last =Shook| first =David| title =Choosing Our Oil Over Their Democracy: Elections as Farce in Equatorial Guinea| work =Huffington Post| date =28 May 2013| url =http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-shook/equatorial-guinea-oil_b_3328376.html| access-date =27 December 2013| archive-date =27 December 2013| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20131227121554/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-shook/equatorial-guinea-oil_b_3328376.html| url-status =live}} Several international groups have called for Obiang to:

• increase fiscal transparency and accountability by publishing all government revenues, and conducting and publishing annual audits of government accounts, including those abroad, and forcing officials to declare assets
• Disclose natural resource revenues
• Greatly increase spending alleviation of poverty
• Uphold political freedoms and rights
• Allow judicial practices to meet international standards
• Cease harassing and hindering his critics
• Allow foreign inspectors and groups to travel freely, unhindered and unharassed.

File:The President, Shri Ram Nath Kovind during the banquet lunch hosted by the President of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Mr. Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, at Presidential Palace, in Guinea on April 08, 2018.jpg at a banquet hosted by Obiang in 2018]]

The U.S. Justice Department has alleged that Obiang's son also extorted funds from lumber and construction companies by inflating contractor payments by as much as 500%, then funnelled the funds into a private accounts for his own use. Obiang and his cabinet have defended Kiki, as his son is known. Lawyers uphold his innocence in both US and French courts, saying he received the funds legally though legitimate business enterprises.{{cite web| last =Nsehe| first =Mfonobong| title =An African Dictator's Son And His Very Lavish Toys| work =Forbes| date =7 July 2011| url =https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2011/07/07/an-african-dictators-son-and-his-very-lavish-toys/| access-date =15 September 2017| archive-date =11 October 2017| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20171011022926/https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2011/07/07/an-african-dictators-son-and-his-very-lavish-toys/| url-status =live}}

Shortly after the emergence of these allegations, Obiang named his son Equatorial Guinea's deputy permanent delegate to UNESCO, possibly giving him diplomatic immunity from prosecution. Obiang has created an independent audit task force to review the expenditures and financials of public figures in the government, screen for corruption, and increase financial transparency. The head of this task force, however, was appointed by Obiang himself.

Obiang owns two mansions in the United States, one in Los Angeles and the other in Washington, D.C. He usually goes there for meetings and when he is not in residence there is a caretaker.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}

File:18th Summit of Non-Aligned Movement gets underway in Baku 018.jpg in 2019]]

Obiang had a close relationship with the Washington DC–based Riggs Bank. He is said to have been welcomed by top Riggs officials, who held a luncheon in his honor.{{cite news|first=David|last=Montgomery|author2=Kathleen Day|title=Critics Say Allbritton Ruined Bank He Loved|date=17 July 2004|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A56372-2004Jul16.html|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=8 July 2008|archive-date=6 October 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081006182042/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A56372-2004Jul16.html|url-status=live}} Publicity regarding this relationship would later contribute to the downfall of Riggs.Gurulé, Jimmy (2008) "Chapter 11: Private causes of action: using the civil justice system to hold terrorist financiers accountable" Unfunding terror: the legal response to the financing of global terrorism Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, England, [https://books.google.com/books?id=tYHi5qBaM7MC&pg=PA356 footnote 10, page 356]; {{ISBN|978-1-84542-962-1}}

On 10 November 2010, the Supreme Court of France ruled that a complaint filed by Transparency International in France on 2 December 2008 was admissible to the court system there. The decision allowed the appointment of an investigating judge and a judicial inquiry into claims that Obiang used state funds to purchase private property in France.Newstime Africa, 22 November 2010.

A 2010 article published in Forbes magazine suggested that Obiang gathered roughly $700 million of the country's wealth in US bank accounts.{{cite web|title=Unesco suspends Obiang prize|work=Al Jazeera|date=21 October 2010|url=http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2010/10/20101021155522938291.html|access-date=29 April 2015|archive-date=23 October 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101023145831/http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2010/10/20101021155522938291.html|url-status=live}}

On December 12, 1968, Obiang married Constancia Mangue Nsue Okomo (born August 20, 1951).{{Cite book|title=The World Who's who of Women, Vol. 13|publisher=Melrose Press|date=1995|page=89|isbn=978-0-948875-12-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kJkrAQAAIAAJ}}

In 2006, it was reported that Obiang favoured his son Teodoro Nguema to succeed him.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/nov/10/equatorialguinea.danglaister|title=The tiny African state, the president's playboy son and the $35m Malibu mansion|author1=Chris McGreal|author2=Dan Glaister|newspaper=The Guardian|date=10 November 2006|access-date=6 January 2012|location=London|archive-date=13 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211213024802/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/nov/10/equatorialguinea.danglaister|url-status=live}}

• {{flag|Bolivia}}:
• 60px Grand Collar of the Order of the Condor of the Andes (November 2017)
• {{flag|Eswatini}}:
• 60px Collar of the Royal Order of the Crown (2012)
• {{flag|Philippines}}:
• 60px Grand Collar of the Order of Lakandula, Rank of Supremo (May 2006)
• {{Flag|Serbia}}:
• 60px Order of the Republic of Serbia, Second Class (February 2022)
• {{Flag|Spain}}:
• 60px Collar of the Order of Isabella the Catholic (December 1979)
• {{flag|Suriname}}:
• 60px Grand Officer Honorary Order of the Yellow Star (February 2012)
• {{Flag|Uganda}}:
• 60px Most Excellent Order of the Pearl of Africa: Grand Master (2012)

{{Reflist}}

{{Notelist}}

{{Commons category}}

• [https://www.un.org/ga/63/generaldebate/equatorialguinea.shtml President Obiang's address to the 63rd session of the United Nations General Assembly], 25 September 2008
• [http://www.ecaligiuri.com Honorary Consul for Equatorial Guinea]
• [http://www.slate.com/id/2193870 Who's Africa's Worst Dictator? Hint: It's probably not Robert Mugabe] Slate.com
• [http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,434691,00.html "Torture and Poverty in Equatorial Guinea"], Alexander Smoltczyk, Der Spiegel, 28 August 2006
• [http://www.democracynow.org/2011/6/23/amidst_poverty_and_human_rights_abuses Amidst Poverty, Equatorial Guinea Builds Lavish City to Host African Union] — video report by Democracy Now!

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{{s-bef|before=Francisco Macías Nguema}}

{{s-ttl|title=President of Equatorial Guinea|years=1979–present}}

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{{s-dip}}

{{s-bef|before=Bingu wa Mutharika}}

{{s-ttl|title=Chairperson of the African Union|years=2011–2012}}

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{{EquatoguineanPresidents}}

{{Heads of state of republics}}

{{African Union chairpersons}}

{{Heads of state of OPEC member states}}

{{Order of Lakandula recipients}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, Teodoro}}

Category:1942 births

Category:Living people

Category:Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea politicians

Category:Equatoguinean Roman Catholics

Category:Leaders who took power by coup

Category:People from Wele-Nzas

Category:Presidents of Equatorial Guinea

Category:Ministers of finance of Equatorial Guinea

Category:Grand Cordons of the Honorary Order of the Yellow Star

Category:Grand Collars of the Order of Lakandula

Category:21st-century Equatoguinean politicians

Category:Perpetrators of Indigenous genocides

Category:Politicide perpetrators

Category:Torturers

Category:Deified men