structural:reformatting
Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo is an Equatoguinean politician, dictator, and former military officer who has served as the 2nd President of Equatorial Guinea since 1982 and as well as the President of the Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea since the party's foundation in 1987. Previously, he was the Chairman of the Supreme Military Council from 1979 to 1982. As of 2024, he is the second-longest consecutively serving current non-royal national leader in the world. After graduating from military school in Zaragoza, Spain, Obiang held multiple positions under the presidency of his uncle, Francisco Macías Nguema, including director of the notorious Black Beach prison. He ousted Macías in a military coup in 1979 and took control of the country as president and chairman of the Supreme Military Council. After the country's nominal return to civilian rule in 1982, he founded the Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea (PDGE) in 1987, which was the country's sole legal party until 1992. He has overseen Equatorial Guinea's emergence as an important oil producer, beginning in the 1990s. Obiang was Chairperson of the African Union from 2011 to 2012. Obiang is regarded as a totalitarian leader. He has been widely accused of corruption and abuse of power. Under his rule, Equatorial Guinea continues to have one of the worst human rights records in the world. In marked contrast to the trend toward democracy in most of Africa, Equatorial Guinea is currently a dominant-party state, in which Obiang's PDGE holds virtually all governing power in the nation and has held all or almost all seats in the legislature since its creation. The constitution provides Obiang sweeping powers, including the right to rule by decree, effectively making his government a legal dictatorship. He has also placed family members in key government positions.