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.
Politics of the Democratic Republic of Congo take place in the framework of a republic in transition from a civil war to a semi-presidential republic.
Joseph Kabila Kabange is a Congolese politician who served as President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo between January 2001 and January 2019. He took office ten days after the assassination of his father,President Laurent-DésiréKabila in the context of the Second Congo War. He was allowed to remain in power after the 2003 Pretoria Accord ended the war as the president of the country's new transitional government. He was elected as president in 2006 and re-elected in 2011 for a second term. Since stepping down after the 2018 election,Kabila,as a former president,serves as a senator for life.
Étienne Tshisekedi wa Mulumba was a Congolese politician and the leader of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS),formerly the main opposition political party in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). A long-time opposition leader,he served as Prime Minister of the country on three brief occasions:in 1991,1992–1993,and 1997. He was also the father of the current President,Felix Tshisekedi.
Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo is a politician in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). After he served as Deputy Prime Minister of Defense 2023 to 2024,he was moved to the Deputy Prime Minister of Transportation. He was previously one of four vice-presidents in the transitional government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 17 July 2003 to December 2006. He led the Movement for the Liberation of the Congo (MLC),a rebel group turned political party. He received the second-highest number of votes in the 2006 presidential election. In January 2007,he was elected to the Senate.
Corruption in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,which used to be an institutionalized part of the state,has been relatively lowered in recent years. However,it continues to exceed corruption in comparison to most states. The BBC's DRC country profile calls its recent history "one of civil war and corruption." President Joseph Kabila established the Commission of Repression of Economic Crimes upon his ascension to power in 2001.
The CongoleseRepublican Guard of the Democratic Republic of the Congo,formerly known as the Special Presidential Security Group,is a praetorian guard unit maintained by and tasked to protect the Congolese president Félix Tshisekedi. Congolese military officials state that the Republican Guard (GR) is an independent branch and not the responsibility of FARDC,but the Head of State. Apart from Article 140 of the Law on the Army and Defence,no legal stipulation on the DRC's Armed Forces makes provision for the GR as a distinct unit within the national army. In February 2005,President Joseph Kabila passed a decree which appointed the GR's commanding officer and 'repealed any previous provisions contrary' to that decree. The GR is more than 10,000 strong,and formerly consisted of three brigades,the 10th,at Kinshasa,the 15th,and the 16th,at Lubumbashi. It has better working conditions and is paid regularly,but still commits numerous crimes near their bases,including against United Nations officials.
Floribert Chebeya Bahizire was a leading Congolese human rights activist in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,hailed by the United Nations as "a champion of human rights". His death led to calls for an investigation from more than 50 organisations,including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch,many countries and several senior UN officials,including Ban Ki-moon,Navi Pillay,Alan Doss and Philip Alston.
General elections were held in Democratic Republic of the Congo on 28 November 2011;a facultative run-off on 26 February 2012 was shelved with a change in election laws.
Senate elections were held in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on 14 March 2019 to elect the 108 Senators. Former DRC President Joseph Kabila,who stepped down from office in January 2019 following the inauguration of the recently elected Félix Tshisekedi,has also joined the upper house of the legislature as a senator for life,for a total of 109 seats.
AiméBoji Sangara Bamanyirue is a Congolese politician who has been Minister of Budget in the Cabinet of the Democratic Republic of the Congo since April 2021. He was a Union for the Congolese Nation Member of the National Assembly representing Walungu from 2006 to 2019,and was reelected in the same constituency at the 2023 general election.
The Union for the Congolese Nation is a political party in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was founded in 2010 by Vital Kamerhe,who was at the time a close ally of the former president Joseph Kabila. Kamerhe had previously served as the Chief of Staff to Kabila and as the Speaker of the National Assembly.
General elections were held in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on 30 December 2018,to determine a successor to President Joseph Kabila,as well as for the 500 seats of the National Assembly and the 715 elected seats of the 26 provincial assemblies. Félix Tshisekedi (UDPS) won with 38.6% of the vote,defeating another opposition candidate,Martin Fayulu,and Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary,backed by the ruling party PPRD. Fayulu alleged that the vote was rigged against him in a deal made by Tshisekedi and outgoing President Kabila,challenging the result in the DRC's Constitutional Court. Different election observers,including those from the country's Roman Catholic Church,also cast doubt on the official result. Nonetheless on 20 January the Court rejected his appeal and declared Tshisekedi as the winner. Parties supporting President Kabila won the majority of seats in the National Assembly. Félix Tshisekedi was sworn in as the 5th President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo on 24 January 2019,making it the first peaceful transition of power in the country since it became independent from Belgium in 1960.
Samy Badibanga Ntita is a Congolese politician who was Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from November 2016 to May 2017. He was also on the ballot for the 2018 Democratic Republic of the Congo general election as a presidential candidate.
Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo is a Congolese politician who has been the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo since 24 January 2019. He is the leader of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS),the DRC's oldest and largest party,succeeding his late father Étienne Tshisekedi in that role,a three-time Prime Minister of Zaire and opposition leader during the reign of Mobutu Sese Seko. Tshisekedi was the UDPS party's candidate for president in the December 2018 general election,which he was awarded,despite accusations of irregularities from several election monitoring organisations and other opposition parties. The Constitutional Court of the DRC upheld his victory after another opposition politician,Martin Fayulu,challenged the result,but Tshisekedi has been accused of making a deal with his predecessor,Joseph Kabila. The election marked the first peaceful transition of power since the state became independent from Belgium in 1960.
Martin Madidi Fayulu is a Congolese politician. He is the leader of the Engagement for Citizenship and Development party.
Nicolas Kazadi is a Congolese politician and career diplomat who has been Ambassador-at-large for the Democratic Republic of the Congo since 7 March 2019 and Minister of Finance since 12 April 2021.
Jeanine Mabunda Lioko Mudiayi is a Congolese lawyer and politician who in 2019 became the first woman elected to lead the Democratic Republic of the Congo's National Assembly. She was impeached on December 10,2020,through a democratic vote by the National Assembly with 281 votes.
Dominique Sakombi Inongo was a Congolese politician and diplomat.
On 19 May 2024,an attempted coup d'état took place in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Targeting President Félix Tshisekedi and his Economy Minister Vital Kamerhe,the assailants attacked both the Palais de la Nation and Kamerhe's residence. They were heavily armed and put up an intense fight at the Kamerhe home. At least one shell from the fighting detonated in the nearby capital of the Republic of the Congo (RC),Brazzaville,causing several injuries.
