The world's oldest president has disappeared from public view

**World's Oldest President's Two-Month Absence Stirs Concerns**

The world's oldest president, 93-year-old Cameroonian President Paul Biya, has not been seen in public for two months, raising concerns about his health, the Associated Press reported.

Biya has been out of the public eye since leaving the country on June 7 for a "short personal visit to Europe," one of his longest foreign trips. Officials later confirmed he was in Switzerland.

The president's health has long been a topic of discussion, as he spends much of his time in Europe, particularly France and Switzerland. He has reportedly stayed there for weeks at a time, often delegating the running of the country to his relatives and family.

Cameroon's constitution does not explicitly prohibit the president from leaving the country for several months. The opposition says he is running the country on "autopilot."

Opposition leader Issa Chiroma Bakari, who came second in October's presidential election, said Cameroonians believe "not everything is right" with the president. Chiroma, who is in exile in Gambia, said Biya's prolonged stay in Switzerland would undermine his legitimacy and further fuel his desperate attempts to hold on to power by force.

Biya was re-elected in October 2025 for a new seven-year term. He has ruled Cameroon since 1982, his eighth term as president. In 2008, the constitution was amended to remove term limits. Biya's re-election sparked widespread protests.

Biya recently reshuffled the country's military leadership, promoting five colonels to the rank of brigadier general. One of the new brigadier generals is Raymond Jean-Charles Bekoo Abondo, commander of the elite presidential guard responsible for the president's security. Biya made the appointments from Geneva on Monday (August 10), the BBC reported.