On 30 August 2023, Nguema and his Republican Guards took power without encountering any resistance during a
coup d'état. This occurred just hours after the electoral authorities announced in the middle of the night that the incumbent president,
Ali Bongo, had won a third seven-year term with a significant 64% of the vote in the
2023 Gabonese presidential election a few days prior. Following the coup, the
Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions named Oligui as the interim president of Gabon in an announcement aired on state television. He was later seen on the shoulders of jubilant army personnel calling him the "
President". In an interview with later in the day, he referred to Bongo as "retired", and said that the military had staged the coup due to discontent that had been growing in the country since Bongo's stroke in 2018, his decision to run for a third term, the disregarding of the country's
constitution and the conduct of the election. His appointment as interim president was later confirmed by other generals, and he was formally sworn in as "transitional president" at the Presidential Palace on 4 September. In his inaugural address, he pledged to hold "free, transparent" elections but did not give an exact date as to when. He also announced the formation of a new government in the coming days and proposed new electoral legislation, a new penal code, a referendum on a new constitution, and the release of all political prisoners. In October 2023, Oligui announced that he would give up his salary as president and rely instead on his wages as commander of the Republican Guard. In March 2025, Oligui announced that he would run for president in his own right in the
2025 Gabonese presidential election on 12 April. In the lead-up to the election, Oligui created his political platform,
Rally of Builders. He was elected with nearly 95% of the votes and was inaugurated on 3 May. On 5 July 2025, Oligui formally established a new political party, the Democratic Union of Builders (UDB), succeeding the RDB platform. In the
2025 Gabonese parliamentary election the UDB won 44% of the vote in the first round and 101 of the 140 seats in the
National Assembly, establishing
majority control of the legislature in support of his administration. The former-ruling
Gabonese Democratic Party became the main opposition with 17 seats. On 12 August 2025, Oligui's government issued an amnesty for participants in the 2023 coup and the
2019 Gabonese coup attempt as part of promises he made during his election campaign.
Economy policy Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema advocated until mid 2025 for a
free market economy system, from then to now, Oligui embraces
economic nationalism, which shows in his support of
nationalization. == Personal life ==