Luc Ayang obit

Luc Ayang, Longtime Head of Cameroon's Economic and Social Council, Dies at 78

He was not on the list.

Luc Ayang, the president of Cameroon's Economic and Social Council, CES, died on October 14, 2025, at a hospital in Brussels, Belgium, according to multiple confirmed sources. Ayang, 78, reportedly succumbed to a recurrent stroke that occurred days earlier.

Before being evacuated abroad, Ayang had been hospitalized in Maroua in the Far North region. A letter from the Minister of Public Health, dated October 3 and addressed to the presidency, had recommended an urgent medical evacuation abroad via a medicalized plane directly from Maroua.

Appointed in 1984, Ayang served as the head of the CES for more than four decades, succeeding Félix Sabal Lecco. A native of Doukoula in the Mayo-Danay region, he briefly served as Prime Minister between August 1983 and January 1984, a pivotal period marking the transition between former presidents Ahmadou Ahidjo and Paul Biya.

Despite the longevity of his tenure, Ayang remained a low-profile figure, rarely appearing in the media and only showing up at official ceremonies.

Ayang graduated with a law degree from the University of Yaoundé in 1972. He began his career as a civilian servant in Meyomessala, President Paul Biya's hometown, a proximity that reportedly sealed a lasting relationship of trust between the two men. “ The two maintained excellent relations ,” a source close to the deceased said, recalling that Ayang had worked at the Presidency in 1975 when Biya was Secretary General.

A member of the ruling Cameroon People's Democratic Movement, CPDM, Political Bureau, Ayang was a discreet player in the political system, with minimal involvement in the ruling party's internal struggles.

Under his long leadership, the Economic and Social Council's institutional activity was virtually stagnant. Since the 2001 reform, the body was supposed to have 150 members, but Ayang never secured their appointment. As a result, the CES operated with only its president, a vice-president, Emmanuel Nzete, a secretary general, and a small administrative staff. This situation fueled a public perception of the institution as a costly and largely irrelevant body.

Ayang's main tangible legacy is the new headquarters for the CES, inaugurated in March 2025. The ultra-modern building, estimated to cost over 39 billion XAF, also houses the Senate.

Ayang's death marks the passing of one of the last high-ranking officials trained under President Ahidjo and retained under President Biya, symbolizing a long-standing continuity of administrative and political power in Cameroon.