Joseph Kasa-Vubu
Joseph Kasa-Vubu, alternatively Joseph Kasavubu, (c. 1915 – 24 March 1969) was a Congolese politician who served as the first President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (the Republic of the Congo until 1964) from 1960 until 1965.
Joseph Kasa-Vubu | |
|---|---|
Kasa-Vubu at the Belgo-Congolese Round Table Conference, January 1960 | |
| 1st President of the Republic of the Congo | |
| In office 27 June 1960 – 24 November 1965 | |
| Prime Minister | Patrice Lumumba Joseph Iléo Justin Marie Bomboko Joseph Iléo Cyrille Adoula Moise Tshombe Évariste Kimba |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Joseph-Désiré Mobutu |
| Personal details | |
| Born | c. 1915 Kuma-Dizi, Mayombe, Belgian Congo |
| Died | 24 March 1969 (aged 53–54) Boma, Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| Political party | ABAKO |
| Spouse | Hortense Ngoma Masunda (m. 1941) (died 1996) |
| Children | Justine Kasa-Vubu, among others |
A member of the Kongo ethnic group, Kasa-Vubu became the leader of the Alliance des Bakongo (ABAKO) party in the 1950s and soon became a leading proponent of Congo's independence from Belgian colonial rule. He then became the country's first president in a coalition with Patrice Lumumba as prime minister. Less than a week after the country's independence in 1960, their government was confronted by the Congo Crisis, a series of secession movements and rebellions. During this time, Kasa-Vubu, a centrist, clashed with the leftist Lumumba when the latter ordered assistance from the Soviet Union, leading to a political deadlock. Kasa-Vubu then dissolved Lumumba's government, accusing it of having communist sympathies. Following Lumumba's execution in 1961, Kasa-Vubu presided over a series of weak governments while confronting subsequent rebellions by Lumumba's supporters. In 1965, he was overthrown in another coup by Joseph-Désiré Mobutu and died four years later.