Mobutu Sese Seko

Mobutu Sese Seko Nkuku wa za Banga (or Mobutu Sese Seko Koko Ngbendu Wa Za Banga; October 14, 1930 – September 7, 1997) was the President of Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) for 32 years (1965 – 1997).

Military coup

In 1965, now Lieutenant-General Mobutu seized power from President Kasavubu, following another power struggle between Kasavubu and his prime minister Moise Tshombe. The CIA and the Belgians were actively working in the country to support Mobutu and get rid of Lumumba because they felt Mobutu would be a better ally in the Cold War. It is also argued that the Western support for Mobutu was also related to his allowing businesses to export the many natural resources of Zaire without worrying about environmental, labor, or other regulations that protect against corruption and abuse. Mobutu declared himself president for five years. He quickly centralized power, put down an attempted coup in 1967 and was elected president in 1970. Embarking on a campaign of anti-European, pro-African cultural awareness, Mobutu renamed the country the Republic of Zaire in October 1971. In 1972 he renamed himself Mobutu Sese Seko Nkuku 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 Sese Seko for short (pronounced Mobootu Sayzay Sayko). Note that the latter portion of this name has been transliterated in a wide variety of ways.

Related Topics:
1965 - Moise Tshombe - CIA - Cold War - Coup - 1967 - 1970 - Zaire - October - 1971 - 1972 - Transliterated

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