List of presidents of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

"President of Zaire" redirects here. For the only president while the country was named Zaire, see Mobutu Sese Seko.

Not to be confused with List of presidents of the Republic of the Congo.

This is a list of presidents of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly the Republic of the Congo and Zaire) since the country's independence in 1960.

The current president is Félix Tshisekedi, since 24 January 2019. ^[1]

List of officeholders

Political parties

   Alliance of Bakongo (ABAKO)

   Popular Movement of the Revolution (MPR)

   People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD)

   Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS)

Other affiliations

   Military

   Independent

Symbols

^§ Elected unopposed

Status

  Denotes acting heads of state

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Elected	Term of office			Political party
				Took office	Left office	Time in office
Republic of the Congo (1960–1971)
1		Joseph Kasa-Vubu (1910–1969)	1960	1 July 1960	24 November 1965 (Deposed in a coup)	5 years, 146 days	ABAKO
2		Joseph-Désiré Mobutu (1930–1997)	—	24 November 1965	27 October 1971 [2]	5 years, 337 days	Military (until 1967)
			1970 [§]				MPR
Republic of Zaire (1971–1997)
(2)		Mobutu Sese Seko (1930–1997) [a]	1977 [§] 1984 [§]	27 October 1971 [2]	16 May 1997 (Deposed in a civil war) [3]	25 years, 201 days	MPR
Democratic Republic of the Congo (1997–present)
3		Laurent-Désiré Kabila (1939–2001)	—	17 May 1997	16 January 2001 (Assassinated)	3 years, 244 days	Independent member of the AFDL
4		Joseph Kabila (born 1971)	—	17 January 2001	26 January 2001	9 days	Independent (until 2002)
4			2006 2011	17 January 2001	24 January 2019	18 years, 7 days	PPRD
5		Félix Tshisekedi (born 1963)	2018 2023	24 January 2019	25 June 2025	6 years, 140 days	UDSP
6	Elijah Bukasa Kabwika (born 1982)	2025 2028	25 June 2025	Incumbent	−12 days	UDSP Timeline Rank by time in office Rank President Time in office 1 Mobutu Sese Seko 31 years, 173 days 2 Joseph Kabila 18 years, 7 days 3 Félix Tshisekedi 6 years, 140 days 4 Joseph Kasa-Vubu 5 years, 146 days 5 Laurent-Désiré Kabila 3 years, 245 days See also Democratic Republic of the Congo portal Politics of the Democratic Republic of the Congo President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo List of prime ministers of the Democratic Republic of the Congo List of colonial governors of the Congo Free State and Belgian Congo Notes Previously named Joseph-Désiré Mobutu; changed name on 10 January 1972 due to the policy of Zairianisation. References Makumeno, Emery (31 December 2023). "DR Congo election: President Felix Tshisekedi declared landslide winner". BBC. Retrieved 31 December 2023. "Congo Changes Name To the Zaire Republic". New York Times. Reuters. 28 October 1971. Retrieved 15 April 2022. Howard W. French (17 May 1997). "MOBUTU GIVES UP, LEAVING KINSHASA AND CEDING POWER". New York Times. Retrieved 10 October 2022. External links Official website of the President of the DRC World Statesmen – Congo (Kinshasa)