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Democratic Republic of the Congoportal |
This is a list of European colonial administrators responsible for the territory of the Congo Free State and Belgian Congo (today the Democratic Republic of the Congo).
Prior to the creation of the Congo Free State, the International Association of the Congo (IAC) had signed treaties with over 300 native Congolese chiefs and in effect exercised sovereignty over a large area of the Congo Basin. The IAC was headquartered in Belgium and run by a committee under the presidency of Maximilien Strauch. Prior to the creation of the office of Administrator-General, authority on the ground in the Congo had been exercised by a Chief of Expedition, who until April 1884 was Henry Morton Stanley. [1]
Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Position | Term of office | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||
Francis de Winton (1835–1901) | Administrator-General | 22 April 1884 | 1 July 1885 | 1 year, 70 days |
Portrait | Name | Position | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Reign start | Reign ended | |||
Leopold II of Belgium (1835–1909) | Sovereign | 1 July 1885 | 15 November 1908 |
For the list of the active colonial administrators that administered the Congo Free State from 1885 to 1908, see the List of colonial governors of the Congo Free State and Belgian Congo for further information.
Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Position | Term of office | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||
Théophile Wahis (1844–1921) | Governor-General | 15 November 1908 | 20 May 1912 | 3 years, 187 days | ||
Félix Fuchs (1858–1928) | 20 May 1912 | 5 January 1916 | 3 years, 230 days | |||
Eugène Henry (1862–1930) | 5 January 1916 | 30 January 1921 | 5 years, 25 days | |||
Maurice Lippens (1875–1956) | 30 January 1921 | 24 January 1923 | 1 year, 359 days | |||
Martin Rutten (1876–1944) | 24 January 1923 | 27 December 1927 | 4 years, 337 days | |||
Auguste Tilkens (1869–1949) | 27 December 1927 | 14 September 1934 | 6 years, 261 days | |||
Pierre Ryckmans (1891–1959) | 14 September 1934 | 31 December 1946 | 12 years, 108 days | |||
Eugène Jungers (1888–1958) | 31 December 1946 | 1 January 1952 | 5 years, 1 day | |||
Léo Pétillon (1903–1996) | 1 January 1952 | 12 July 1958 | 6 years, 192 days | |||
Hendrik Cornelis (1910–1999) | 12 July 1958 | 30 June 1960 | 1 year, 354 days |
On 1 July 1960, the Belgian Congo became independent as the Republic of the Congo (République du Congo).
This article lists the heads of state of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) since the country's independence in 1960.
The current head of state is President Félix Tshisekedi, since 24 January 2019.
(Dates in italics indicate de facto continuation of office)
Republic of the Congo (1960–1964) | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
№ | Name | Birth–Death | Took office | Left office | Political Party | ||
Presidents | |||||||
1 | Joseph Kasa-Vubu | 1910–1969 | 1 July 1960 | 1 August 1961 | ABAKO | ||
2 | Antoine Gizenga | 1925–2019 | 1 August 1961 | 5 August 1961 | Parti Solidaire Africain (Gizenga faction) | ||
3 | Joseph Kasa Vubu | 1910–1969 | 5 August 1961 | 1 August 1964 | Independent | ||
Democratic Republic of the Congo (1964–1971) | |||||||
Presidents | |||||||
(3) | Joseph Kasa-Vubu | 1910–1969 | 1 August 1964 | 24 November 1965 [lower-alpha 1] | ABAKO | ||
4 | Joseph-Désiré Mobutu | 1930–1997 | 24 November 1965 | 27 October 1971 | Military / Popular Movement of the Revolution | ||
Republic of Zaire (1971–1997) | |||||||
President | |||||||
(4) | Mobutu Sese Seko [lower-alpha 2] | 1930–1997 | 27 October 1971 | 16 May 1997 [lower-alpha 3] | Popular Movement of the Revolution | ||
Democratic Republic of the Congo (1997–present) | |||||||
Presidents | |||||||
5 | Laurent-Désiré Kabila | 1939–2001 | 17 May 1997 | 16 January 2001 (assassinated) | Independent | ||
6 | Joseph Kabila | 1971– | 26 January 2001 Acting since 17 January 2001 | 24 January 2019 | Independent / People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy | ||
7 | Félix Tshisekedi | 1963– | 24 January 2019 | Incumbent | Union for Democracy and Social Progress |
Under the 2006 constitution, which was promulgated in February 2006, the position of Vice-President becomes obsolete, after the inauguration of the first President of the DRC, elected democratically by direct universal suffrage. This inauguration occurred on December 6, 2006. Since then, the President of the Senate is designated to step in as interim president.
The president of the Senate of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the presiding officer in the Senate of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Below is a list of office-holders:
Name | Entered office | Left office | |
---|---|---|---|
Joseph Iléo | June 1960 | September 1960 | |
Victor Koumorico | July 1961 | November 1962 | |
Isaac Kalonji | November 1962 | October 1965 | |
Sylvestre Mudingayi | October 1965 | 24 June 1967 | |
Senate abolished | 24 June 1967 | 7 April 2002 | |
Pierre Marini Bodho | 7 April 2002 | 11 May 2007 | |
Léon Kengo Wa Dondo | 11 May 2007 | 5 April 2019 | |
Léon Mamboleo | 5 April 2019 | 27 July 2019 | |
Alexis Thambwe Mwamba | 27 July 2019 | 5 February 2021 | |
Modeste Bahati Lukwebo | 2 March 2021 |
No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Election | Term of office | Political party | President(s) (Term) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Took office | Left office | Time in office | |||||||
Republic of the Congo (1960–1971) | |||||||||
1 | Patrice Lumumba (1925–1961) | 1960 | 24 June 1960 (appointed) | 5 September 1960 (dismissed) | 73 days | Mouvement National Congolais (Lumumba faction) | Joseph Kasa-Vubu (1960–1965) | ||
2 | Joseph Iléo (1921–1994) | — | 5 September 1960 | 20 September 1960 | 15 days | Mouvement National Congolais (Kalonji faction) | |||
3 | Albert Ndele (1930–2023) | — | 20 September 1960 | 3 October 1960 | 13 days | Independent | |||
4 | Justin Bomboko (1928–2014) | — | 3 October 1960 | 9 February 1961 | 129 days | Independent | |||
— | Antoine Gizenga (1925–2019) (disputed) [lower-alpha 4] | — | 13 December 1960 | 5 August 1961 | 235 days | Parti Solidaire Africain (Gizenga faction) | |||
(2) | Joseph Iléo (1921–1994) | — | 9 February 1961 | 2 August 1961 | 174 days | Mouvement National Congolais (Kalonji faction) | |||
5 | Cyrille Adoula (1921–1978) | — | 2 August 1961 | 30 June 1964 | 2 years, 333 days | Mouvement National Congolais | |||
6 | Moïse Tshombe (1919–1969) | 1965 | 10 July 1964 | 13 October 1965 | 1 year, 95 days | CONACO | |||
7 | Évariste Kimba (1926–1966) | — | 13 October 1965 | 25 November 1965 | 43 days | CONAKAT | |||
8 | Léonard Mulamba (1928–1986) [lower-alpha 5] | — | 25 November 1965 | 26 October 1966 | 335 days | Military | Joseph-Désiré Mobutu (1965–1997) | ||
Post abolished (26 October 1966 – 27 October 1971) | |||||||||
Republic of Zaire (1971–1997) | |||||||||
Post abolished (27 October 1971 – 6 July 1977) | |||||||||
9 | Mpinga Kasenda (1937–1994) | 1977 | 6 July 1977 [3] | 6 March 1979 | 1 year, 243 days | Popular Movement of the Revolution | Mobutu Sese Seko (1965–1997) | ||
10 | Bo-Boliko Lokonga (1934–2018) | — | 6 March 1979 | 27 August 1980 | 1 year, 174 days | Popular Movement of the Revolution | |||
11 | Jean Nguza Karl-i-Bond (1938–2003) | — | 27 August 1980 | 18 April 1981 [lower-alpha 6] | 234 days | Popular Movement of the Revolution | |||
12 | N'Singa Udjuu (1934–2021) | 1982 | 23 April 1981 [5] | 5 November 1982 | 1 year, 196 days | Popular Movement of the Revolution | |||
13 | Léon Kengo wa Dondo (born 1935) | — | 5 November 1982 | 31 October 1986 | 3 years, 360 days | Popular Movement of the Revolution | |||
Post vacant (31 October 1986 – 22 January 1987) | |||||||||
14 | Mabi Mulumba (born 1941) | 1987 | 22 January 1987 | 7 March 1988 | 1 year, 45 days | Popular Movement of the Revolution | |||
15 | Sambwa Pida Nbagui (1940–1998) | — | 7 March 1988 | 26 November 1988 | 264 days | Popular Movement of the Revolution | |||
(13) | Léon Kengo wa Dondo (born 1935) | — | 26 November 1988 | 4 May 1990 | 1 year, 159 days | Popular Movement of the Revolution | |||
16 | Lunda Bululu (born 1942) | — | 4 May 1990 | 1 April 1991 | 332 days | Popular Movement of the Revolution | |||
17 | Mulumba Lukoji (1943–1997) | — | 1 April 1991 | 29 September 1991 [lower-alpha 7] | 181 days | Popular Movement of the Revolution | |||
18 | Étienne Tshisekedi (1932–2017) | — | 29 September 1991 [8] | 1 November 1991 | 33 days | Union for Democracy and Social Progress | |||
19 | Bernardin Mungul Diaka (1933–1999) | — | 1 November 1991 | 25 November 1991 | 24 days | Democratic Assembly for the Republic | |||
(11) | Jean Nguza Karl-i-Bond (1938–2003) | — | 25 November 1991 | 15 August 1992 | 264 days | Union of Federalists and Independent Republicans | |||
(18) | Étienne Tshisekedi (1932–2017) | — | 15 August 1992 | 18 March 1993 | 215 days | Union for Democracy and Social Progress | |||
20 | Faustin Birindwa (1943–1999) | — | 18 March 1993 | 14 January 1994 | 302 days | Union for Democracy and Social Progress | |||
(13) | Léon Kengo wa Dondo (born 1935) | — | 6 July 1994 | 2 April 1997 | 2 years, 270 days | Union of Independent Democrats | |||
(18) | Étienne Tshisekedi (1932–2017) | — | 2 April 1997 | 9 April 1997 | 7 days | Union for Democracy and Social Progress | |||
21 | Likulia Bolongo (born 1939) | — | 9 April 1997 [9] | 16 May 1997 [lower-alpha 8] | 37 days | Military | |||
Democratic Republic of the Congo (1997–present) | |||||||||
Post abolished (16 May 1997 – 30 December 2006) | |||||||||
22 | Antoine Gizenga (1925–2019) | 2006 | 30 December 2006 | 10 October 2008 | 1 year, 285 days | Unified Lumumbist Party | Joseph Kabila (2001–2019) | ||
23 | Adolphe Muzito (born 1957) | 2011 | 10 October 2008 | 6 March 2012 | 3 years, 148 days | Unified Lumumbist Party | |||
— | Louis Alphonse Koyagialo (1947–2014) Acting | — | 6 March 2012 | 18 April 2012 | 43 days | Unified Lumumbist Party | |||
24 | Matata Ponyo Mapon (born 1964) | — | 18 April 2012 | 17 November 2016 | 4 years, 213 days | People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy | |||
25 | Samy Badibanga (born 1962) | — | 17 November 2016 | 18 May 2017 | 182 days | Union for Democracy and Social Progress | |||
26 | Bruno Tshibala (born 1956) | — | 18 May 2017 | 7 September 2019 | 2 years, 112 days | Union for Democracy and Social Progress | |||
2018 | Félix Tshisekedi (2019–present) | ||||||||
27 | Sylvestre Ilunga (born 1947) | — | 7 September 2019 | 27 April 2021 | 1 year, 232 days | People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy | |||
28 | Sama Lukonde (born 1977) | — | 27 April 2021 | Incumbent | 2 years, 307 days | Future of Congo |
(Dates in italics indicate de facto continuation of office)
No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Election | Term of office | Political party | President(s) (Term) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Took office | Left office | Time in office | |||||||
26 | Vital Kamerhe | 1955– | 7 April 2019 | 20 May 2019 | Independent | ||||
In 1960 the State of Katanga declared independence from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. United Nations troops crushed it in Operation Grand Slam.
The earliest known human settlements in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo have been dated back to the Middle Stone Age, approximately 90,000 years ago. The first real states, such as the Kongo, the Lunda, the Luba and Kuba, appeared south of the equatorial forest on the savannah from the 14th century onwards.
Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1971 to 1997. Zaire was located in Central Africa and was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa, and the 11th-largest country in the world. With a population of over 23 million inhabitants, Zaire was the most populous officially Francophone country in Africa, as well as one of the most populous in Africa.
Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa za Banga, commonly known as Mobutu Sese Seko or simply just Mobutu and also by his initials MSS, was a Congolese politician and military officer who was the 1st and only President of Zaire from 1971 to 1997. Previously, Mobutu served as the 2nd President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1965 to 1971. He also served as the 5th 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 left-wing 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.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Kinshasa, DRC, DR Congo, or simply the Congo and known from 1971–1997 as Zaire, is a country in Central Africa. By land area, the DRC is the second-largest country in Africa and the 11th-largest in the world. With a population of around 112 million, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the most populous Francophone country in the world. The national capital and largest city is Kinshasa, which is also the economic center. The country is bordered by the Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, Angola, the Cabinda exclave of Angola, and the South Atlantic Ocean.
Joseph Kasa-Vubu, alternatively Joseph Kasavubu, was a Congolese politician who served as the first President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1960 until 1965.
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.
Mpinga Kasenda was a political figure in Zaire under Mobutu Sese Seko. Kasenda was the prime minister of Zaire from 1977 to 1979 and the foreign minister from 1993 to 1994. He was killed in a plane crash near the airport in Kinshasa.
Antoine Gizenga was a Congolese (DRC) politician who was the Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 30 December 2006 to 10 October 2008. He was the Secretary-General of the Unified Lumumbist Party.
Nzanga Mobutu is a Congolese politician. A son of the long-time President Mobutu Sese Seko, he served in the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo under President Joseph Kabila from 2007 to 2011, initially as Minister of State for Agriculture and subsequently as Deputy Prime Minister for Basic Social Needs and Deputy Prime Minister for Labor, Employment and Welfare. He received the fourth-highest number of votes in the 2006 presidential election. In 2007, he founded the Union of Mobutuist Democrats as the successor to his father's Popular Movement of the Revolution and has led the party since.
Articles related to the Democratic Republic of the Congo include:
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, which is also called the Republic of the Congo, alternatively 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 government in 1965, the Democratic Republic of the Congo became the Republic of Zaire in 1971. It would again become the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1997. The period between 1960 and 1964 is referred to as the First Congolese Republic.
Bernardin Mungul Diaka was a Congolese/Zairean diplomat and politician.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Cléophas Kamitatu Massamba was a Congolese politician and leader of the Parti Solidaire Africain.
Alphonse Songolo was a Congolese politician who served as the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville)'s first Minister of Communications. He was a prominent member of the Mouvement National Congolais in Stanleyville and a close partner of Patrice Lumumba. However, in October 1960 he denounced Lumumba and was shortly thereafter imprisoned by pro-Lumumba authorities. He was executed in February 1961 in retaliation for the deaths of several pro-Lumumba politicians.
Nicolas Abel Bayona Ba Meya or Bayona Ba Meya Muna Kimvimba was a Congolese jurist who served as First President of the Supreme Court of Justice of Zaire from 1975 until 1983.
Joseph Ngalula Mpandajila is a Congolese writer and politician.