Republic of the Congo (1960–1964) République du Congo Democratic Republic of the Congo (1964–1971) République démocratique du Congo | |||||||||
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| 1960–1971 | |||||||||
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| Motto: "Justice – Paix – Travail"(French) "Justice – Peace – Work" | |||||||||
| Anthem: Debout Congolais(French) Arise, Congolese | |||||||||
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| Capital | Kinshasa (named Léopoldville before 1966) | ||||||||
| Common languages | |||||||||
| Demonym(s) | Léopoldville-Congolese (1960–1966) Kinshasa-Congolese (1966–1971) | ||||||||
| Government | Federalparliamentary republic (1960–1964) Unitaryparliamentary republic (1964–1965)
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| President | |||||||||
• 1960–1965 | Joseph Kasa-Vubu | ||||||||
• 1965–1971 | Joseph-Desiré Mobutu | ||||||||
| Prime Minister | |||||||||
• 1960 | Patrice Lumumba | ||||||||
• 1960, 1961 | Joseph Iléo | ||||||||
• 1961–1964 | Cyrille Adoula | ||||||||
• 1964–1965 | Moïse Tshombe | ||||||||
• 1965 | Évariste Kimba | ||||||||
• 1965–1966 | Léonard Mulamba | ||||||||
| Historical era | Cold War | ||||||||
| 30 June 1960 | |||||||||
| 30 December 1961 | |||||||||
| 16 January 1962 | |||||||||
| 15 January 1963 | |||||||||
| 1 August 1964 | |||||||||
| 25 November 1965 | |||||||||
| 27 October 1971 | |||||||||
| Currency | Congolese franc (until 1967) Congolese zaire (1967–1971) | ||||||||
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| Today part of | Democratic Republic of the Congo | ||||||||
Part ofa series on the | ||||||||||||||||
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| History ofthe Democratic Republic of the Congo | ||||||||||||||||
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| See also:Years | ||||||||||||||||
 DRC Portal | ||||||||||||||||
TheRepublic of the Congo (French:République du Congo) was the period of the history of theDemocratic Republic of the Congo between 1960 and 1971. Located inCentral Africa, the state was created with the independence of theBelgian Congo in 1960. From 1960 to 1966, the country was also known asCongo-Léopoldville (after its capital) to distinguish it from its northwestern neighbor, which is also called theRepublic of the Congo, alternatively known as "Congo-Brazzaville". In 1964, the state's official name was changed to theDemocratic Republic of the Congo,[2][3] but the two countries continued to be distinguished by their capitals; with the renaming of Léopoldville asKinshasa in 1966, it became also known asCongo-Kinshasa. AfterJoseph Désiré Mobutu, commander-in-chief of the national army,seized control of the government in 1965, the Democratic Republic of the Congo became theRepublic of Zaire in 1971; but it was reverted back to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1997. The period between 1960 and 1964 is referred to as theFirst Congolese Republic.
Conditions in the Congo improved following the Belgian government's takeover in 1908 of theCongo Free State, which had been a personal possession of the Belgian king. Some Bantu languages were taught in primary schools, a rare occurrence in colonial education. Colonial doctors greatly reduced the spread ofAfrican trypanosomiasis, commonly known as sleeping sickness.
DuringWorld War II, the small Congolese army achieved several victories against theItalians in East Africa. The Belgian Congo, which was also rich inuranium deposits, supplied the uranium that was used by the United States to build theatomic weapons that were used in thebombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.
The colonial administration implemented a variety of economic reforms to improve infrastructure: railways, ports, roads, mines, plantations and industrial areas. The Congolese people, however, lacked political power and faced legal discrimination. All colonial policies were decided in Brussels and Léopoldville. The Belgian Colony-secretary and Governor-general, neither elected by the Congolese people, wielded absolute power.
Among the Congolese people, resistance against their undemocratic regime grew over time. In 1955, the Congolese upper class (the so-called "évolués"), many of whom had been educated in Europe, initiated a campaign to end the inequality.
In May 1960, the MNC party orMouvement National Congolais, led byPatrice Lumumba, won theparliamentary elections, and Lumumba was appointed prime minister.Joseph Kasa-Vubu ofABAKO was elected president by the parliament. Other parties that emerged include theParti Solidaire Africain (PSA), led byAntoine Gizenga, and the Parti National du Peuple (PNP), led byAlbert Delvaux andLaurent Mbariko.[citation needed]
The Belgian Congo achieved independence on 30 June 1960. On 1 July Lumumba sent a wire to the UN to request membership, stating that the Congo "accepts without reservation the obligations stipulated in theCharter of the UN and undertakes to abide by the same in absolute good faith."[4] UN Secretary-GeneralDag Hammarskjöld cabled the Foreign Ministry, pointing out the difficulty in admitting the country into the UN under its name in the face of another application for membership from theneighboring Congo, preparing for independence from French control. A delegation was sent fromBrazzaville, the capital of the French Congo, to Léopoldville to resolve the matter. In the end, it was decided that the former Belgian Congo would be recognised as the Republic of the Congo or Congo-Léopoldville while the former French Congo would be known as the Congolese Republic or Congo-Brazzaville.[5]
In September 1960 theFourth emergency special session of the United Nations General Assembly needed to be calledin the wake of aSecurity Council veto by theUSSR. TheCongo Crisis, a period of political upheaval and conflict between 1960 and 1965 in that land, had entered full swing. Hammarskjöld's second term was cut short when on 18 September 1961 he died in a plane crash nearNdola,Northern Rhodesia while en route to cease-fire negotiations during the Congo Crisis.[6]
Following aconstitutional referendum in 1964 it was renamed the "Democratic Republic of the Congo", and in 1971 it was changed again to "Republic of Zaïre".[citation needed]
Shortly after independence, the provinces ofKatanga (withMoise Tshombe) andSouth Kasai engaged in secessionist struggles against the new leadership.[citation needed]
Subsequent events led to a crisis betweenPresident Kasa-Vubu andPrime Minister Lumumba. On 5 September 1960, Kasavubu dismissed Lumumba from office. Lumumba declared Kasa-Vubu's action "unconstitutional" and a crisis between the two leaders developed.[citation needed]
Lumumba had previously appointed Joseph Mobutu chief of staff of the new Congolese army, theArmee Nationale Congolaise (ANC). Taking advantage of the leadership crisis between Kasa-Vubu and Lumumba, Mobutu garnered enough support within the army to inspire mutinous action. With financial support from the United States and Belgium, Mobutu made payments to his soldiers to generate their loyalty. The aversion of Western powers towards communism and leftist ideology, in general, influenced their decision to finance Mobutu's quest to maintain "order" in the new state by neutralizing Kasa-Vubu and Lumumba in acoup by proxy.[citation needed]
On 17 January 1961, Katangan forces, supported by the Belgian government, which desired to retain mining rights for copper and diamonds inKatanga andSouth Kasai, executed Patrice Lumumba and several of his aides at a pig farm nearÉlisabethville.[citation needed]
On at least three occasions over the next two years, Katangan forces under the command of foreign mercenaries clashed with the ONUC, but in February 1963 Katanga was reintegrated into the national territory.[7]
From 1960 to 1964 thepeacekeeping effort was the largest, most complex, and most costly operation ever carried out by theUnited Nations. Up to 20,000 troops were involved by theONUC, the military components of which were completely withdrawn by 30 June 1964.[7][8]
Following five years of extreme instability and civil unrest,Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, thenLieutenant General, overthrew Kasa-Vubu in a1965 CIA-backed coup.[9][10] He had the support of the US for his staunch opposition to communism, which would presumably make him a roadblock to communist activities in Africa.
Mobutu declared himself president for five years, saying that he needed that long to undo the damage that the politicians had done in the country's first five years of independence. However, within two years, he had set up thePopular Movement of the Revolution as the country's only legal party. In 1970, he appeared alone on the ballot inthe country's first direct presidential election. Two weeks later, a single list ofPMR candidateswas elected to the legislature. For all intents and purposes, the Democratic Republic of the Congo had come to an end, but it was another year before Mobutu officially changed the country's name toZaire.[citation needed]
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