Patrice Tonda

Tonda became Gabon's Ambassador to Senegal in 1996, and in 1997 he was additionally accredited as Ambassador to Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, The Gambia, and Guinea. He was appointed as Permanent Representative of Gabon to the United Nations at Geneva in 2003; while remaining Permanent Representative to the United Nations at Geneva, he was also appointed as Permanent Representative to United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), based in Vienna, in 2006. He presented his credentials as Permanent Representative to UNIDO on 23 November 2006.^[1]

Following extended negotiations, the United Nations Human Rights Council appointed Tonda as one of six members of a team to investigate violence in Darfur in late January 2007. The composition of the team, which was headed by Jody Williams, was the result of a compromise between Western countries, which had a very critical view of the Sudanese government's actions, and African and Arab countries, which were more sympathetic to the Sudanese government.^[2] The members of the UN team were not given visas and therefore were forced to conduct their research using information available outside of Sudan.^[3] Sudan furiously denounced the team, and Tonda returned to Geneva during the team's futile wait for visas. He nevertheless remained part of the team.^[4]

Tonda was appointed to the government of Gabon as Minister of Lodgings, Housing, and Urban Planning on 28 December 2007.^[5][6] He was then moved to the position of Minister of Trade and Industrial Development, in charge of NEPAD, on 7 October 2008.^[7][8]

Bongo died in June 2009. After Bongo's son, Ali Bongo Ondimba, won the 30 August 2009 presidential election, Tonda was dismissed from the government on 17 October 2009.^[9] He was then appointed as Chairman of the Board of Gabon Telecom on 19 October 2009.^[10]