Government

From 1908 to 1960 the Congo was under Belgian rule. In 1959 there were numerous riots in the capital city of Leopoldville opposing Belgian rule. The Movement National Congolias (MNC), which was led by Patrice Lumumba, was an organization which advocated independence from Belgium. The Belgians recognized that the MNC was a strong force in the Congo and arrested Lumumba and sentenced him to 6 months in prison.

On June 30th, 1960, Belgium announced the Congo's independence and also pronounced Patrice Lumumba as the first Prime Minister. The Belgians were "forced" to make Lumumba Prime Minister because of the strong Congolese support of him. In December of 1960, the Belgians arrested Lumumba again and in February of the following year Lumumba was murdered, which is generally attributed to the United States and Belgium.

Following Lumumba's death the newly named Republic of Congo went through five years of crisis, which resulted in riots, the United Nations being involved in Congolese politics, and a new Prime Minister, Moise Tshombe.

In 1965, a military coup led by Colonel Joseph Mobutu forced Tshombe to leave office and Mobutu took over the Congo. Mobutu ran the country from 1965 until 1997, when he was forced out of office by rebels supported by Rwanda. During his term as dictator Mobutu changed the name of the Congo to Zaire, improved foreign relations, and tried to rebuild the country.

After Mobutu was thrown out of office, Laurent-Desire Kabila was installed as the new president of the newly named Democratic Republic of Congo. In 2001, one of Kabila's bodyguards murdered him and his son, Joseph, took over office.

Today the UN is still helping stabilize the government and the DRC.


Sources
"Democratic Republic of Congo." History. 2005. African Art. 30 Aug. 2007 <http://africanart.com/DRC.html>

BBC. "Country Profiles." Timeline: Democratic Republic of Congo. 2007. BBC. 2 September. 2007 http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/country_profiles/1072684.stm

"Conflict History: DR Congo." International Crisis Group. 2007. 2 September. 2007 <http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?action=conflict_search&amp;amp;l=1&t=1&c_country=37>.