When Omar Bongo was propelled to the presidency of Gabon in 1967, General De Gaulle still held the reins in Paris and Jacques Foccart, his Africa adviser, was busy establishing the political, commercial and intelligence networks that allowed France to continue exerting influence in its former African colonies. If this shadowy world, dubbed Francafrique, endured for decades to come, it was partly thanks to Bongo, one of its canniest operators. His death after nearly 42 years in power marks the end of an era.

He was a linchpin of the system – no slave to France, more the skilled manipulator of its establishment. He was the last survivor of Africa’s 1960s era autocrats, a man whose wealth and diplomatic acumen allowed him to punch well beyond the weight of the small oil-rich nation he ruled.