Mobutu Sese Seko | |
|---|---|
 Mobutu in 1983 | |
| President of Zaire | |
| In office 27 October 1971 – 16 May 1997 | |
| Preceded by | Himself (as President of the DRC) |
| Succeeded by | Laurent-Désiré Kabila (as President of the DRC) |
| 2nd President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo | |
| In office 24 November 1965 – 27 October 1971 | |
| Preceded by | Joseph Kasa-Vubu |
| Succeeded by | Himself (as President of Zaire) |
| 5th Chairman of the Organisation of African Unity | |
| In office 11 September 1967 – 13 September 1968 | |
| Preceded by | Haile Selassie |
| Succeeded by | Houari Boumédiène |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Joseph-Désiré Mobutu 14 October 1930 Lisala, Équateur, Belgian Congo |
| Died | 7 September 1997 (aged 66) Rabat, Rabat-Salé-Kénitra, Morocco |
| Political party | Popular Movement of the Revolution |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 16, including Nzanga and Kongulu |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | |
| Years of service | 1949–1997 |
| Rank |
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| Battles/wars | |
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|---|---|---|
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Early political career Presidency
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Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa za Banga[a] (/məbuːˈtuː ˈsɛseɪ ˈsɛkoʊ/ ; born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu; 14 October 1930 – 7 September 1997), often shortened to Mobutu Sese Seko or Mobutu and also known 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.
To consolidate his power, he established the Popular Movement of the Revolution as the sole legal political party in 1967, changed the Congo's name to Zaire in 1971, and his own name to Mobutu Sese Seko in 1972. Mobutu claimed that his political ideology was "neither left nor right, nor even centre",[1] though nevertheless he developed a regime that was intensely autocratic. He attempted to purge the country of all colonial cultural influence through his program of "national authenticity".[2][3] Mobutu was the object of a pervasive cult of personality.[4] During his rule, he amassed a large personal fortune through economic exploitation and corruption,[5] leading some to call his rule a "kleptocracy".[6][7] He presided over a period of widespread human rights violations. Under his rule, the nation also suffered from uncontrolled inflation, a large debt, and massive currency devaluations.
Mobutu received strong support (military, diplomatic and economic) from the United States, France, and Belgium, who believed he was a strong opponent of communism in Francophone Africa. He also built close ties with the governments of apartheid South Africa, Israel and the Greek junta. From 1972 onward, he was also supported by Mao Zedong of China, mainly due to his anti-Soviet stance but also as part of Mao's attempts to create a bloc of Afro-Asian nations led by him. The massive Chinese economic aid that flowed into Zaire gave Mobutu more flexibility in his dealings with Western governments, allowed him to identify as an "anti-capitalist revolutionary", and enabled him to avoid going to the International Monetary Fund for assistance.[8]
By 1990, economic deterioration and unrest forced Mobutu Sese Seko into coalition with his power opponents. Although he used his troops to thwart change, his antics did not last long. In May 1997, rebel forces led by Laurent-Désiré Kabila overran the country and forced him into exile. Already suffering from advanced prostate cancer, he died three months later in Morocco. Mobutu was notorious for corruption, nepotism, and having amassed between US$50 million and $125 million during his rule.[9][10] He was known for extravagances such as shopping trips to Paris via the supersonic Concorde aircraft.[11]
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
- ^ Crawford Young, Thomas Edwin Turner, The Rise and Decline of the Zairian State, p. 210, 1985, University of Wisconsin Press
- ^ Vieira, Daviel Lazure: Precolonial Imaginaries and Colonial Legacies in Mobutu's "Authentic" Zaire in: Exploitation and Misrule in Colonial and Postcolonial Africa, (edited by) Kalu, Kenneth and Falola, Toyin, pp. 165–191, Palgrave Macmillan, 2019
- ^ David F. Schmitz, The United States and Right-Wing Dictatorships, 1965–1989, pp. 9–36, 2006, Cambridge University Press
- ^ "Mobutu Sese Seko". The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia. Columbia University Press. 2012. Archived from the original on 8 May 2013. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
- ^ "Revealing the Ultimate 2020 List: The 10 Most Corrupt Politicians in the World - The Sina Times". 3 January 2020. Archived from the original on 3 January 2024. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
- ^ Acemoglu, Daron; Robinson, James A. & Verdier, Thierry (April–May 2004). "Kleptocracy and Divide-and-Rule: A Model of Personal Rule". Journal of the European Economic Association. 2 (2–3): 162–192. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.687.1751. doi:10.1162/154247604323067916. S2CID 7846928. Archived from the original on 29 December 2014. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
- ^ Pearce, Justin (16 January 2001). "DR Congo's troubled history". BBC. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
- ^ Jung Chang and Jon Halliday, Mao: the Unknown Story, p. 574, 2006 edition, Anchor Books
- ^ Washington Post, "Mobutu: A Rich man In Poor Standing". Archived 25 September 2022 at the Wayback Machine 2 October 1991.
- ^ The New York Times, "Mobutu’s village basks in his glory". Archived 20 March 2024 at the Wayback Machine 29 September 1988.
- ^ Tharoor, Ishaan (20 October 2011). "Mobutu Sese Seko". Top 15 Toppled Dictators. Time Magazine. Archived from the original on 22 October 2011. Retrieved 30 April 2013.