Sylvia Valentin Bongo Ondimba (born 11 March 1963) has been the wife of Ali Bongo Ondimba since 1989. She became the First Lady of Gabon following the inauguration of her husband as President of Gabon on 16 October 2009. She created the Sylvia Bongo Ondimba Foundation, "For the family", in January 2011 "to improve the plight of vulnerable and disadvantaged people around the world". On August 30, 2023, her husband, Ali Bongo, was deposed after 14 years of rule, ending her term as First Lady. Family background Born in Paris, Sylvia Valentin was barely two months old when her parents were transferred to Douala for work. She is the daughter of Edouard Valentin (died 28 January 2019), a French businessman who headed the group called Omnium Gabonais d'Assurances et de Réassurances (OGAR, Gabonese Insurance and Reinsurance). Edouard Valentin's wife, Evelyne Valentin, then became President Bongo Ondimba's secretary. Sylvia spent most of her childhood in Cameroon along with her siblings, before the family took up residence in Tunisia. In 1974, after a long stay by the Valentin family in Tunisia, Sylvia and her parents decided to move to Gabon, where she received an academic and Christian education at the Libreville Immaculate Conception Institution.

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Sylvia Valentin Bongo Ondimba (born 11 March 1963) has been the wife of Ali Bongo Ondimba since 1989. She became the First Lady of Gabon following the inauguration of her husband as President of Gabon on 16 October 2009. She created the Sylvia Bongo Ondimba Foundation, "For the family", in January 2011 "to improve the plight of vulnerable and disadvantaged people around the world". On August 30, 2023, her husband, Ali Bongo, was deposed after 14 years of rule, ending her term as First Lady.