His Excellency Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja FAAS
Nzongola-Ntalaja in 1967
6thDRC Ambassador to the United Nations
In office 13 January 2022 – 9 January 2023
Preceded by	Ignace Gata Mavita wa Lufuta
Succeeded by	Zenon Mukongo Ngay
Personal details
Born	(1944-02-03)3 February 1944 (age 81) Kasha, South Kivu,Belgian Congo
Education	Davidson College (BA, 1967) University of Kentucky (MA, 1968) University of Wisconsin–Madison (PhD, 1975)
Awards	Best Book Award from the African Politics Conference Group (2004)
Scientific career
Fields	Political science African studies
Institutions	University of Kisangani (1970–1971) University of Lubumbashi (1971–1975) Clark-Atlanta University (1975–1977) University of Maiduguri (1977–1978) Howard University (1978–1997) International Political Science Association (1994–1997) African Association of Political Science (1995–1997) African Studies Association (1998) Davidson College (1998–1999) University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2007–)

Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja (born 3 February 1944) is a Congolese academic, author, and diplomat. He is a professor ofAfrican andAfro-American Studies at theUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he specialises in African and global studies. He was also thePermanent Representative of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the United Nations from 2022 until 2023.

Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja was born on 3 February 1944^[1] inKasha, South Kivu in theBelgian Congo.^[2] Nzongola-Ntalaja grew up at anAmerican Presbyterian Congo Mission (APCM) station in Kasha, near the state post ofLuputa.^[3] Nzongola-Ntalaja's involvement in activism began during his teenage years when he participated in protests that demanded Congolese independence from Belgium.^[4]

During the 1960s civil rights movement in the United States, there were calls forDavidson College to admit Black students, and Nzongola-Ntalaja was an exchange student inMinnesota at the time with plans to attendMacalester College. However, Davidson College's president,Grier Martin, contacted his host family and offered him a full scholarship. This made Nzongola-Ntalaja the second Black student to attend Davidson during its early attempts to promote diversity. He quickly became involved in American activism, participating incivil rights movement in the United States, pushing for the college to end discrimination against Black employees, and advocating for a more comprehensive curriculum.^[5]

Nzongola-Ntalaja graduated with aBachelor of Arts degree in philosophy in 1967, before completing aMaster of Arts in diplomacy and international commerce in 1968 from theUniversity of Kentucky.^[2] He later defended hisDoctor of Philosophy in political science in 1975 at theUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison.^[2]

Nzongola-Ntalaja had teaching appointments in theUniversity of Kisangani,Congo-Kinshasa from 1970 to 1971, theUniversity of Lubumbashi from 1971 to 1975,Clark-Atlanta University between 1975 and 1977, and theUniversity of Maiduguri in Nigeria between 1977 and 1978.^[6][2] He became a professor of African studies atHoward University between 1978 and 1997, and theJames K. Batten Professor of Public Policy at Davidson College, North Carolina, between 1998 and 1999. He was also a visiting professor atEl Colegio de Mexico in the summer of 1987.^[6][7] Nzongola-Ntalaja has been a professor in the Department of African-American and Diaspora Studies at theUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill since 2007.^[8][9][10]

Nzongola-Ntalaja served as President of theAfrican Studies Association (ASA) of the United States in 1988,^[11] as a member of the executive committee of theInternational Political Science Association (IPSA) from 1994 to 1997, and as President of theAfrican Association of Political Science (AAPS) from 1995 to 1997.^[6] He was elected a Fellow of theAfrican Academy of Sciences in 1988.^[7]

Nzongola-Ntalaja has extensive research onAfrican politics,^{[12][13][14][5]} development, and conflict issues,^[15] and has authored several books and numerous articles on these topics.^[8] One of his most notable works isThe Congo from Leopold to Kabila: A People's History,^[16] which provides a comprehensive history of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from the colonial period to the present day.^[17][18] The book won the 2004 Best Book Award from the African Politics Conference Group,^[19][20] and was featured onThe Guardian's Top 10 books onneocolonialism.^[21] He has also written extensively aboutabuses under the Congo Free State,^[22][20] which he refers to as "the Congo holocaust",^[23] and given aTED-Ed talk on the topic.^[24]

Nzongola-Ntalaja's open opposition to the dictatorMobutu Sese Seko and his regime inZaire made him a target of intimidation and even death threats. He was subjected to lengthy interrogations by the Security Police.^[25] In response, he chose to return to the US and live in voluntary exile for a period of 17 years.^[5][25]

Nzongola-Ntalaja has been a member of theAfrican National Congress (ANC) and the CongolesePeople's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD) since 1991.^[5] He has also been a vocal critic of authoritarianism and corruption in the country, and has called for greater democracy andhuman rights protections in the Congo.^[17][18]

Nzongola-Ntalaja has been involved in politics and contributed to his country's shift away from Mobutu's authoritarian rule. In 1992, he participated as a representative in the Sovereign National Conference of Congo/Zaire,^[25] followed by serving as a Diplomatic Advisor to the Transitional Government led by Prime MinisterÉtienne Tshisekedi. Additionally, in 1996, he was appointed as the Deputy President of the National Electoral Commission of the DRC, where he served as the primary representative of the opposition on the commission.^[6] Nzongola-Ntalaja has also worked for the United Nations. He was the Director of theOslo Governance Center from 2002 to 2005.^[26] In 2005, he led a team of experts tasked with developing a peace and security framework for theGreat Lakes Region.^[27]

Nzongola-Ntalaja was thePermanent Representative of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the United Nations, having presented his credentials to UN Secretary-GeneralAntónio Guterres on 13 January 2022.^[27][28] In June 2022, Nzongola-Ntalaja asked the Security Council to demand an unconditional withdrawal of theM23 fromBunagana and parts ofRutshuru territory in eastern Congo during theUnited Nations Security Council meeting.^[29][30] The M23 is a rebel group that was defeated by the Congolese Armed Forces and the United Nations in 2013, but reemerged in November 2021.^[31] Congolese officials blame neighbouring Rwanda for supporting the M23, while Rwanda denies any links to the group.^[32][33] However, he dismissed Rwandan concerns about the existence ofDemocratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda in DRC.^[34] On 26 October 2022, Nzongola-Ntalaja accused Rwanda of occupying the DRC between 1998 and 2003 and committing atrocities, including plundering the Congolese economy and stealingchimpanzees and other animals.^[35][36][37] On 9 January 2023, Nzongola-Ntalaja was replaced byZenon Mukongo Ngay.^[38]

Scholia has a profile forGeorges Nzongola-Ntalaja(Q72006112).

• Nzongola-Ntalaja, Georges; Magubane, Bernard Makhosezwe, eds. (1983).Proletarianization and class struggle in Africa. Contemporary Marxism series. San Francisco: Synthesis Publications.ISBN 978-0-89935-019-6.
• Nzongola-Ntalaja, Georges (1986).The Crisis in Zaire: Myths and Realities. Africa World Press.ISBN 978-0-86543-023-5.
• Nzongola-Ntalaja, Georges (1987).Revolution and counter-revolution in Africa : essays in contemporary politics. London: Institute for African Alternatives.ISBN 0-86232-750-4.OCLC 17622087.
• Nzongola-Ntalaja, Georges (1991).Conflict in the Horn of Africa. African Studies Association Press.ISBN 978-0-918456-65-6.
• Nzongola-Ntalaja, Georges (1993).Nation-building and state building in Africa. Occasional paper series. SAPES Trust. Harare: SAPES Books.ISBN 978-1-77905-012-0.
• Krieger, Joel; Joseph, William A.; Paul, James A.; Nzongola-Ntalaja, Georges (1993).The Oxford Companion to Politics of the World. Oxford University Press.ISBN 978-0-19-505934-2.
• Nzongola-Ntalaja, Georges (1997).Le mouvement démocratique au Zaïre, 1956-1996 (in French). UNAM.ISBN 978-968-36-5693-3.
• Science, African Association of Political (1998).The State and Democracy in Africa. Africa World Press.ISBN 978-0-86543-638-1.
• Nzongola-Ntalaja, Georges (2001).Africa in the New Millennium. Nordic Africa Institute.ISBN 978-91-7106-488-2.
• Nzongola-Ntalaja, Georges (2004).From Zaire to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Nordic Africa Institute.ISBN 978-91-7106-538-4.
• Nzongola-Ntalaja, Georges (22 September 2006)."The history of democracy in DR Congo".Soundings.34 (34):131–146.doi:10.3898/136266206820466002.
• Nzongola-Ntalaja, Georges (10 October 2013).The Congo from Leopold to Kabila: A People's History. Bloomsbury Publishing.ISBN 978-1-78032-939-0.
• Nzongola-Ntalaja, Georges (2014).Patrice Lumumba. Ohio University Press.ISBN 9780821445068.

• TED-Ed (YouTube) (8 July 2021).History's deadliest king - by Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja.
• crisisinthecongo (YouTube) (23 May 2011).Georges Nzongola Ntalaja (Congolese Author) - Clinton, Rwanda, 9-11.
• PushBlack (YouTube).The Killing of Patrice Lumumba with Dr. Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja.

• 1944 births
• Davidson College alumni
• Davidson College faculty
• University of Kentucky alumni
• University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni
• Clark Atlanta University faculty
• University of Maiduguri people
• Howard University faculty
• International Political Science Association scholars
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill faculty
• Permanent representatives of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the United Nations
• Living people
• Historians of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
• People from South Kivu
• Democratic Republic of the Congo emigrants to the United States
• Democratic Republic of the Congo Africanists
• Fellows of the African Academy of Sciences

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