Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of a sovereign state between 1971 and 1997 in Central Africa that is now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was, by area, the largest country in sub-Saharan Africa, the second-largest in all of Africa, and the 11th-largest in the world. With a population of over 23 million inhabitants, Zaïre was the most-populous officially Francophone country in the world, as well as one of the most populous in Africa, and one of the most populous countries in the world.
Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu Wa Za Banga was a Congolese politician and military officer who was the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1965 to 1997. He also served as Chairman of the Organisation of African Unity from 1967 to 1968. During the Congo Crisis, Mobutu, serving as Chief of Staff of the Army and supported by Belgium and the United States, deposed the democratically elected government of nationalist Patrice Lumumba in 1960. Mobutu installed a government that arranged for Lumumba's execution in 1961, and continued to lead the country's armed forces until he took power directly in a second coup in 1965 to become the country's military dictator.
Léon Kengo wa Dondo is a Congolese politician who served as the "first state commissioner" several times under Mobutu Sese Seko in Zaïre. He was one of the most powerful figures in the regime and was a strong advocate of economic globalization and free-market economics. He served as President of the Senate of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 2007 to 2019.
Kongo Central, formerly Bas-Congo, is one of the 26 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its capital is Matadi.
The national flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is a sky blue flag, adorned with a yellow star in the upper left canton and cut diagonally by a red stripe with a yellow fimbriation. It was adopted on 20 February 2006. A new constitution, ratified in December 2005 and which came into effect in February 2006, promoted a return to a flag similar to that flown between 1963 and 1971, with a change from a royal blue to sky blue background. Blue represents peace. Red stands for "the blood of the country's martyrs", yellow the country's wealth; and the star a radiant future for the country.
The arms of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has changed several times since 1997. The current one was introduced in 2006 and depicts a leopard head, surrounded by an elephant tusk to the left and a spear to the right. Below are the three words which make up the national motto: Justice, Paix, Travail. It was adopted on 18 February 2006 by President Joseph Kabila.
The DR Congo national football team, recognised by FIFA as Congo DR, represents DR Congo in men's international football and it is controlled by the Congolese Association Football Federation. They are nicknamed the Leopards., The team represents FIFA and Confederation of African Football (CAF).
The First Congo War (1996–1997), also nicknamed Africa's First World War, was a civil war and international military conflict which took place mostly in Zaire, with major spillovers into Sudan and Uganda. The conflict culminated in a foreign invasion that replaced Zairean President Mobutu Sese Seko with the rebel leader Laurent-Désiré Kabila. Kabila's uneasy government subsequently came into conflict with his allies, setting the stage for the Second Congo War in 1998-2003.
The Agence Nationale de Renseignements (ANR) is a government intelligence agency of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The role of the agency is to ensure "internal security and external security" of the state. The agency was strongly criticized for the disrespect of human rights by several organisations. Inzun Kakiak has led the agency since 2019.
Mongo, also called Nkundo or Mongo-Nkundu, is a Bantu language spoken by several of the Mongo peoples in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mongo speakers reside in central DR Congo over a large area inside the curve of the Congo River. Mongo is a tonal language.
The Province of the Anglican Church of the Congo is a province of the Anglican Communion, stretching over the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo.
The Republic of the Congo was a sovereign state in Central Africa, created with the independence of the Belgian Congo in 1960. From 1960 to 1966, the country was also known as Congo-Léopoldville to distinguish it from its northwestern neighbor, also called the Republic of the Congo, likewise known as Congo-Brazzaville. In 1964, the state's official name was changed to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but the two countries continued to be distinguished by their capitals; with the renaming of Léopoldville as Kinshasa in 1966, it became also known as Congo-Kinshasa. After Joseph Désiré Mobutu, commander-in-chief of the national army, seized control of the country, it became the Republic of Zaire in 1971. It would again become the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1997. The period between 1960 and 1965 is referred to as the First Congolese Republic.
Joseph-Albert Malula was a Congolese Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Kinshasa from 1964 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1969.
Donatien Mahele Lieko Bokungu was a prominent Zairean general who served as the last army chief during the long reign of Mobutu Sese Seko.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly Zaire and the Belgian Congo.
Grand Admiral Mavua Mudima was a former Congolese naval officer who served as the commander of the Navy of Republic of Zaire and later as Defense Minister. He was appointed to this post in the government of Prime Minister Leon Kengo (1994–1997), although some sources suggest he could have been appointed as early as 1992.
Henri-Thomas Lokondo Yoka is a Congolese politician serving as a deputy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo National Assembly since 2011. He previously held office as Deputy Minister of Public Works from 1993 until 1994 and Deputy Minister of Foreign Relations from 1996 until 1997. In the 2000s he formed his own party, the Union Congolaise pour la Liberté.
Isidore Ndaywel è Nziem, is a Congolese historian and linguist. He is the author of several essays, studies and other publications about the history of the Congo, including the overview work L'histoire généralené du Congo: De l'héritage ancien à la République démocratique.
Democratic Republic of the Congo–Turkey relations are the foreign relations between the DR Congo and Turkey. Turkey has an embassy in Kinshasa since 1974, and the DR Congo opened its embassy in Ankara in 2011.
