At A Cabinet Meeting, The Foreign Minister Of Gabon Passed Away .

According to the administration and a presidential source, Gabon’s foreign minister Michael Moussa Adamo passed away on Friday after having a heart attack during a cabinet meeting.

An associate of President Ali Bongo Ondimba named Moussa Adamo, 62, had a heart attack and passed away “despite attempts by doctors,” according to a short statement from the administration.

A source close to the presidential palace told AFP that he “had sat down at the beginning of the cabinet meeting and had begun to feel sick.”

He was brought to a military hospital while unconscious, but soon after noon, according to the person who requested anonymity.

President Bongo reacted to his passing by calling Moussa Adamo “a superb diplomat, a real statesman” on Twitter.

“To me, he was first and foremost a trustworthy friend who I could always rely on. It’s a serious setback for Gabon, he said.

Moussa Adamo began his career as a national television presenter after being born in the northern village of Makokou in 1961.

He was appointed chief of staff to Bongo, the defense minister at the time, in 2000.

Moussa Adamo served as President Bongo’s special adviser after the passing of his father, Omar Bongo Ondimba, in 2009.

In March of last year, he was appointed first as foreign minister and subsequently as defense minister after serving for ten years as Gabon’s ambassador to the United States until 2020.