In 1960, Congo gained its independence from Belgium, with Mr Lumumba as the Prime Minister and Mr Kasa-Vubu as the President.

Lumumba

Problems quickly arose: dissension about the course to take, mutiny in the army, interference by Western countries and a declaration of independence by the mineral-rich province of Katanga. Mr Lumumba was fired and ultimately killed by troops loyal to army general Mobutu.

In 1965, Mobutu seized power. He changed the name of the country to Zaire and was supported by the United States of America and Belgium. The country was used to launch operations against Soviet-supported Angola. Mobutu Sese Seko ruled as a dictator and used Zaire as his personal conquest.

Mobutu

After the end of the Cold War, Zaire became less interesting to the USA. When neighbouring Rwanda invaded Zaire in 1997 in the hunt for extremist Hutu militias, anti-Mobutu rebels took their opportunity. Within a short time, they had taken the capital of Kinshasa, installed Laurent Kabila as President and changed the country’s name to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Kabila statue

The problems did not end there. Discord between Mr Kabila and his former allies led to a new uprising, instigated by Rwanda and Uganda. Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe then sided with Mr Kabila and the country was plunged into civil war. Laurent Kabila was killed in 2001 and his son Joseph Kabila succeeded him in the presidency.

At the end of 2002, the government and the rebel groups signed a peace agreement. It is precarious due to attempted coups and scattered eruptions of violence. The government in Kinshasa has no control over large areas of the country; the most tension exists in the East.
In 2003, an interim government was formed with Joseph Kabila as the President. This government is composed of members of the various rebel groups, the political opposition and faithful Kabila supporters. All the large rebel groups and the political opposition supplied Vice-Presidents.
The first general elections are now planned for March 2006.

printversie

independence
• Discours_cérémonie_de_independence_19600630.pdf (101 Kb)
  The adresses by Kasa-Vubu, King Boudewijn and Lumumba at the independence ceremonies, 30 juni 1960.
• Parliamentary_inquiry_murder_Lumumba_2001Nov16.pdf (117 Kb)
• La_pensee_de_Lumumba_1963.pdf (74 Kb)
  Jean-Paul Sartre on Lumumba's ideas (1963)
  
  The wars 1997-2002
• Scramble for the Congo: anatomy of an ugly war International Crisis Group, 20 dec. 2002 (124 p.)
• Exclusion, marginalization and political mobilization: the road to hell in the Great Lakes René Lemarchand, University of Copenhagen, Centre of African Studies, March 2001

• Map of Congo in 1956 (Stiopka.com)
• Chronological history (BBC).
• History of the Democratic Republic of the Congo - Wikipedia
• websites