Mobutu Sese Seko

Mobutu Sese Seko
/moh booh"tooh ses"ay sek"oh, meuh-/
1. (Joseph-Désiré Mobutu), 1930-97, Zairian political leader: president 1965-97.
2. Lake, official name of Lake Albert.

* * *

orig. Joseph-Désiré Mobutu

born Oct. 14, 1930, Lisala, Belgian Congo
died Sept. 7, 1997, Rabat, Mor.

President of Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), 1965–97.

Mobutu served in the Belgian Congolese army and as a journalist before joining Patrice Lumumba in independence negotiations in Brussels in 1960. When independence was achieved, the coalition government of Pres. Joseph Kasavubu and Premier Lumumba put Mobutu in charge of defense. In a rift between Kasavubu and Lumumba, Mobutu helped Kasavubu seize control. Four years later, in a power struggle between Pres. Kasavubu and then Premier Moise Tshombe, Mobutu removed Kasavubu in a coup and assumed the presidency. He established single-party rule and Africanized all European names, changing his own to Mobutu Sese Seko ("All-Powerful Warrior"). His repressive regime failed to spur economic growth; corruption, mismanagement, and neglect led to decline, while Mobutu himself amassed one of the largest personal fortunes in the world. He was overthrown by Laurent Kabila in 1997 and died in exile in Morocco.

* * *

▪ president of Zaire
also called  Mobutu Sese Seko Koko Ngbendu Wa Za Banga,  original name  Joseph (-Désiré) Mobutu  
born Oct. 14, 1930, Lisala, Belgian Congo [now Democratic Republic of the Congo]
died Sept. 7, 1997, Rabat, Morocco

      president of Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), who seized power in a 1965 coup and ruled for some 32 years before being ousted in a rebellion in 1997.

      Mobutu was educated in missionary schools and began his career in 1949 in the Belgian Congolese army, the Force Publique, rising from a clerk to a sergeant major, the highest rank then open to Africans. While still in the army, Mobutu contributed articles to newspapers in Léopoldville (now Kinshasa). After his discharge in 1956 he became a reporter for the daily L'Avenir (“The Future”) and later editor of the weekly Actualités Africaines.

      Through his press contacts Mobutu met the Congolese nationalist leader Patrice Lumumba (Lumumba, Patrice), whose Congolese National Movement (Mouvement National Congolais; MNC) he joined soon after it was launched in 1958. In 1960 Mobutu represented Lumumba at the Brussels Round Table Conference on Congo independence until the release of Lumumba, who had been jailed for his nationalist activities in the Congo. During the conference, Mobutu supported Lumumba's proposals (which were adopted) for a strongly centralized state for the independent Congo.

      When the Congo became independent on June 30, 1960, the coalition government of President Joseph Kasavubu (Kasavubu, Joseph) and Premier Lumumba appointed Mobutu secretary of state for national defense. Eight days later the Congo's Force Publique mutinied against its Belgian officers. As one of the few officers with any control over the army (gained by liberally dispensing commissions and back pay to the mutineers), Mobutu was in a position to influence the developing power struggle between Kasavubu and Lumumba.

      Mobutu covertly supported Kasavubu's attempt to dismiss Lumumba. When Lumumba rallied his forces to oust Kasavubu in September 1960, Mobutu seized control of the government and announced that he was “neutralizing” all politicians. In February 1961, however, Mobutu turned over the government to Kasavubu, who made Mobutu commander in chief of the armed forces. Many believe that Mobutu bore some responsibility for the death of Lumumba, who was arrested by Mobutu's troops and flown to Katanga, where, it is believed, he was killed by Congolese or Katangese troops.

      As commander in chief Mobutu reorganized the army. In 1965, after a power struggle had developed between President Kasavubu and his premier, Moise Tshombe, Mobutu removed Kasavubu in a coup and assumed the presidency. Two years later Mobutu put down an uprising led by white mercenaries attached to the Congolese army. His efforts to revive the Congo's economy included such measures as nationalizing the Katanga copper mines and encouraging foreign investment. Agricultural revitalization lagged, however, and consequently, the need for food imports increased.

      As president, Mobutu moved to Africanize names. The name of the country was changed in October 1971 from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Congo [Kinshasa]) to the Republic of Zaire (the country reverted to its earlier name in 1997). In January 1972 he changed his own name from Joseph-Désiré Mobutu to Mobutu Sese Seko Koko Ngbendu Wa Za Banga (“The all-powerful warrior who, because of his endurance and inflexible will to win, will go from conquest to conquest, leaving fire in his wake”).

      Mobutu attempted to soften the military nature of his regime by filling government posts with civilians. He sought to build popular support through his Popular Movement of the Revolution (Mouvement Populaire de la Révolution; MPR), which until 1990 was the country's only legal party. Opposition to his rule came from numerous Congolese exiles, ethnic groups that had played decisive roles in previous governments, small farmers who gained no share in the attempted economic revival, and some university students. He also faced a continuing threat of attacks on the Shaba region (Mobutu's Africanized name for the Katanga province) by Katangese rebels based in Angola.

      In 1977 Mobutu had to request French military intervention to repel an invasion of Zaire by Angolan-backed Katangese. He was reelected to the presidency in one-man contests in 1970 and 1977. Over the years Mobutu proved adept at maintaining his rule in the face of internal rebellions and attempted coups, but his regime had little success in establishing the conditions needed for economic growth and development. Endemic governmental corruption, mismanagement, and neglect led to the decline of the country's infrastructure, while Mobutu himself reportedly amassed one of the largest personal fortunes in the world.

      With the end of the Cold War in the 1990s, Mobutu lost much of the Western financial support that had been provided in return for his intervention in the affairs of Zaire's neighbours. Marginalized by the multiparty system and ill, Mobutu finally relinquished control of the government in May 1997 to the rebel leader Laurent Kabila, whose forces had begun seizing power seven months earlier. Mobutu died in exile a short time later.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Mobutu Sese Seko — President of Zaire In office 24 November 1965 – 16 May 1997 Prime Minister Several Pr …   Wikipedia

  • Mobutu Sese Seko — en 1983. Presidente de Zaire …   Wikipedia Español

  • Mobutu Sese Seko — Kuku Ngbendu wa Zabanga (geboren als Joseph Désiré Mobutu; * 14. Oktober 1930 in Lisala, Provinz Mongala; † 7. September 1997 in Rabat) war von 1965 bis 1997 Präsident der Demokratischen Republik Kongo (von 1971 bis 1997: Zaire). Mobutu herrschte …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Mobutu Sese Seko — Nkuku wa za Banga (n. Lisala, Congo Belga, 14 de octubre de 1930 † Rabat, Marruecos, 7 de septiembre de 1997). Presidente del Zaire (ahora República Democrática del Congo) entre 1965 y 1997. * * * ► (1930 97) Político y militar …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Mobutu Sese-Seko — Mobutu Sese Seko,   eigentlich Joseph Désiré Mobutu, Politiker in Zaire, * Lisala (Provinz Equateur) 14. 10. 1930, ✝ Rabat 7. 9. 1997; stieg in der belgischen Kolonialtruppe zum Unteroffizier auf. Nach der Entlassung Belgisch Kongos in die… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Mobutu Sese Seko — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Mobutu (homonymie). Mobutu Sese Seko Le maréchal Mobutu en 1983 à Washington …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Mobutu-Sese-Seko-See — Mobutu Sese Seko See,   1972 97 Name des Albertsees …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Mobutu-Sese-Seko-See — Albertsee Geographische Lage: DR Kongo, Uganda (Ostafrika) …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Foreign policy of Mobutu Sese Seko — Mobutu Sese Seko s foreign policy emphasized his alliance with the United States and the Western world while ostensibly maintaining a non aligned position in international affairs. [ [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi… …   Wikipedia

  • Mobutu Sese Seko — biographical name 1930 1997 originally Joseph Désiré Mobutu president of Zaire (1965 97) …   New Collegiate Dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”