Mobutu sese seko biography pdf directory

A favorite Mobutu tactic was to play "musical chairs", rotating members of his government, switching the cabinet roster constantly to ensure that no one would pose a threat to his rule. Between November and AprilMobutu reshuffled his cabinet 60 times. Kisangani wrote: "Most public officials knew that regardless of their inefficiency and degree of corruption, they could reenter the government.

To hold a government position required neither a sense of management nor a good conscience. On most occasions, effectiveness and a good conscience were major obstacles to political advancement. Mobutu demanded absolute personal allegiance in return for the opportunity to accumulate wealth". InMobutu tried unsuccessfully to have himself named president for life.

Victor Nendaka Bikain his capacity as Vice-President of the Bureau of the Central Committee, second authority in the land, addressed a speech filled with praise for President Mobutu. To gain the revenues of Congolese resources, Mobutu initially nationalized foreign-owned firms and forced European investors out of the country. But in many cases he handed the management of these firms to relatives and close associates, who quickly exercised their own corruption and stole the companies' assets.

In —, Mobutu launched his "Zairianization" campaign, nationalising foreign owned businesses that were handed over to Zairians. ByMobutu's nationalizations had precipitated such an economic slump that Mobutu was forced to try to woo foreign investors back. France airlifted 1, Moroccan paratroopers into the country and repulsed the rebels, ending Shaba I.

The rebels attacked Zaire again, in greater numbers, in the Shaba II invasion of The governments of Belgium and France deployed troops with logistical support from the United States and defeated the rebels again. The poor performance of the Zairian Army during both Shaba invasions, which humiliated Mobutu by forcing him to ask for foreign troops, did not lead to military reforms.

Mobutu was re-elected in single-candidate elections in and This was almost equivalent to the amount of the country's foreign debt at the time. In a speech that he delivered on 20 May in a football stadium in Kinshasa that was filled with some 70, people, Mobutu openly accepted petty corruption, stating: "If you want to steal, steal a little in a nice way, but if you steal too much to become rich overnight, you will be caught".

Mobutu owned a fleet of Mercedes-Benz vehicles that he used to travel between his numerous palaces, while the nation's roads deteriorated and many of his people starved. The infrastructure virtually collapsed, and many public service workers went months without being paid. Most of the money was siphoned off to Mobutu, his family, and top political and military leaders.

Only the Special Presidential Division — on whom his physical safety depended — was paid adequately or regularly. A popular saying that "the civil servants pretended to work while the state pretended to pay them" expressed this grim reality. Another feature of Mobutu's economic mismanagement, directly linked to the way he and his friends siphoned off so much of the country's wealth, was rampant inflation.

The rapid decline in the real value of salaries strongly encouraged a culture of corruption and dishonesty among public servants of all kinds. Mobutu was known for his opulent lifestyle. He cruised on the Congo on his yacht Kamanyola. In Gbadolitehe erected a palace, the " Versailles of the jungle". Mobutu's rule earned a reputation as one of the world's foremost examples of kleptocracy and nepotism.

Mobutu was the subject of one of the most pervasive personality cults of the twentieth century. The evening newscast opened with an image of him descending through clouds like a god. His portraits were hung in many public places, and government officials wore lapel pins bearing his portrait. In the documentary of the Foreman—Ali fight in Zaire, dancers receiving the fighters can be heard chanting "Sese Seko, Sese Seko".

At one point, in earlythe media were forbidden to refer to anyone other than Mobutu by name; others were referred to only by the positions they held. He gained significant support from the West and its international organizations such as the International Monetary Fund. In the late s, the West Germany company OTRAG was developing a program to send peaceful satellites into space at lower costs, but a amendment to the Treaty of Brussels prevented them from developing and launching missiles in Germany.

By June 6 oftwo more rockets had been launched and crashed in Zaire. Nevertheless Mobutu continued to promote the program, stating that Zairians were employed by the project and the country would receive royalties from future rocket sales. Relations between Zaire and Belgium wavered between close intimacy and open hostility during the Mobutu years.

More often than not, Belgian decision-makers responded in a lackluster way when Mobutu acted against the interests of Belgium, partly explained by the highly divided Belgian political class. Mobutu and his family were received as personal guests of the Belgian monarch inand a convention for scientific and technical cooperation was signed that same year.

During King Baudouin 's highly successful visit to Kinshasa ina treaty of friendship and cooperation between the two countries was signed. Edmond LeburtonBelgian prime minister between andwas someone greatly admired by the President. Prime Minister Wilfried Martens recalled in his memoirs that the palace gates closed completely after Mobutu published a handwritten letter of the King.

Next to friendly ties with Belgians residing in Belgium, Mobutu had a number of Belgian advisors at his disposal. As what was then the second most populous French-speaking country in the world it has subsequently come to have a larger population than France and the most populous one in sub-Saharan Africa[ 86 ] Zaire was of great strategic interest to France.

During the presidency of Charles de Gaullediplomatic relations between the two countries gradually grew stronger and closer due to their many shared geopolitical interests. Initially, Zaire's relationship with the People's Republic of China was no better than its relationship with the Soviet Union. Memories of Chinese aid to Mulele and other Maoist rebels in Kwilu province during the ill-fated Simba Rebellion remained fresh on Mobutu's mind.

However, byhe began to see the Chinese in a different light, as a counterbalance to both the Soviet Union as well as his intimate ties with the United States, Israeland South Africa. InMobutu made a surprise visit to both China and North Korea, during the time he was originally scheduled to visit the Soviet Union. Upon returning home, both his politics and rhetoric became markedly more radical; it was around this time that Mobutu began criticizing Belgium and the United States the latter for not doing enough, in Mobutu's opinion, to combat white minority rule in South Africa and Rhodesiaintroduced the "obligatory civic work" program called salongoand initiated "radicalization" an extension of 's "Zairianization" policy.

Mobutu even borrowed a title — the Helmsman — from Mao. Incidentally, late to early was when his personality cult reached its peak. China and Zaire shared a common goal in central Africa, namely doing everything in their power to halt Soviet gains in the area. Accordingly, both Zaire and China covertly funneled aid to the National Liberation Front of Angola and later, the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola in order to prevent their former allies, the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angolawho were supported and augmented by Cuban forcesfrom coming to power.

The Cubans, who exercised considerable influence in Africa in support of leftist and anti-imperialist forces, were heavily sponsored by the Soviet Union during the period. In addition to inviting Holden Robertothe leader of the National Liberation Front of Angola, and his guerrillas to Beijing for training, China provided weapons and money to the rebels.

Zaire itself launched an ill-fated, pre-emptive invasion of Angola in a bid to install a pro-Kinshasa government, but was repulsed by Cuban troops. The expedition was a fiasco with far-reaching repercussions, most notably the Shaba I and Shaba II invasions, both of which China opposed. China sent military aid to Zaire during both invasions, and accused the Soviet Union and Cuba who were alleged to have supported the Shaban rebels, although this was and remains speculation of working to de-stabilize central Africa.

Mobutu's relationship with the Soviet Union was frosty and tense. A staunch anti-communist, he was not anxious to recognize the Soviets; the USSR had supported—though mostly in words—both Patrice Lumumba, Mobutu's democratically elected predecessor, and the Simba rebellion. However, to project a non-aligned image, he did renew ties in ; the first Soviet ambassador arrived and presented his credentials in For example, inhe expelled four Soviet mobutu sese seko biographies pdf directory for carrying out "subversive activities", and intwenty Soviet officials were declared persona non grata for allegedly instigating student demonstrations at Lovanium University.

Moscow was the only major world capital Mobutu never visited, although he did accept an invitation to do so in For reasons unknown, he cancelled the visit at the last minute, and toured the People's Republic of China and North Korea instead. Relations cooled further inwhen the two countries found themselves on opposing sides in the Angolan Civil War.

This had a dramatic effect on Zairian foreign policy for the next decade; bereft of his claim to African leadership Mobutu was one of the few leaders who refused to recognize the Marxist government of AngolaMobutu turned increasingly to the US and its allies, adopting pro-American stances on such issues as the Soviet invasion of Afghanistanand Israel 's position in international organizations.

For the most part, Zaire enjoyed warm relations with the United States. Relations did cool significantly in — over Mobutu's increasingly radical rhetoric which included his scathing denunciations of American foreign policy[ 99 ] and plummeted to an all-time low in the summer ofwhen Mobutu accused the Central Intelligence Agency of plotting his overthrow and arrested eleven senior Zairian generals and several civilians, and condemned in absentia a former head of the Central Bank Albert Ndele.

Because of Mobutu's poor human rights record, the Carter Administration put some distance between itself and the Kinshasa government; [ ] even so, Zaire received nearly half the foreign aid Carter allocated to sub-Saharan Africa. But during the second Shaba invasion, the US played a much more active and decisive role by providing transportation and logistical support to the French and Belgian paratroopers that were deployed to aid Mobutu against the rebels.

Carter echoed Mobutu's unsubstantiated charges of Soviet and Cuban aid to the rebels, until it was apparent that no mobutu sese seko biography pdf directory evidence existed to verify his claims. Mobutu enjoyed a very warm relationship with the Reagan Administrationthrough financial donations. During Reagan's presidency, Mobutu visited the White House three times, and criticism of Zaire's human rights record by the US was effectively muted.

During a state visit by Mobutu inReagan praised the Zairian strongman as "a voice of good sense and goodwill". Mobutu also had a cordial relationship with Reagan's successor, George H. Bush; he was the first African head of state to visit Bush at the White House. With the Soviet Union gone, there was no longer any reason to support Mobutu as a bulwark against communism.

Accordingly, the US and other Western powers began pressuring Mobutu to democratize the regime. Regarding the change in US attitude to his regime, Mobutu bitterly remarked: "I am the latest victim of the cold war, no longer needed by the US. The lesson is that my support for American policy counts for nothing. Mobutu also had friends in America outside Washington.

Mobutu was befriended by televangelist Pat Robertsonwho promised to try to get the State Department to lift its ban on the African leader. In Maydue to the ending of the Cold War and a change in the international political climate, as well as economic problems and domestic unrest, Mobutu agreed to give up the MPR's monopoly of power.

Mobutu sese seko biography pdf directory: Mobutu Sese Seko was a military

In early Maystudents studying at the Lubumbashi campus of the National University of Zaire protested against Mobutu's regime, demanding his resignation. Mobutu appointed a transitional government that would lead to promised elections but he retained substantial powers. Following the riots in Kinshasa by unpaid soldiers, Mobutu brought opposition figures into a coalition government, but still connived to retain control of the security services and important ministries.

Factional divisions led to the creation of two governments inone pro- and one anti-Mobutu. Mobutu appointed Kengo Wa Dondoan advocate of austerity and free-market reforms, as prime minister. During this period, Mobutu was becoming increasingly physically frail and during one of his trips to Europe for medical treatment, ethnic Tutsis captured much of eastern Zaire.

The seeds of Mobutu's downfall were sown in the Rwandan genocidewhen aboutTutsis and moderate Hutus were massacred by aboutHutu extremists aided by the Rwandan government in The genocide ended when the Tutsi-dominated Rwandan Patriotic Front seized the whole country, leading hundreds of thousands of Hutus including many of the genocidal killers, to flee into refugee camps in eastern Zaire.

Mobutu welcomed the Hutu extremists as personal guests and allowed them to establish military and political bases in the eastern territories, from where they attacked and killed ethnic Tutsis across the border in Rwanda and in Zaire itself, ostensibly to prepare for a renewed offensive back into Rwanda. The new Rwandan government began sending military aid to the Zairian Tutsis in response.

The resulting conflict began to destabilize eastern Zaire as a whole. When Mobutu's government issued an order in November forcing Tutsis to leave Zaire on penalty of death, the ethnic Tutsis in Zaire, [ ] known as Banyamulengewere the focal point of a rebellion. Burundi and Angola also supported the growing rebellion, which mushroomed into the First Congo War.

Ailing with cancer, Mobutu was in Switzerland for treatment, [ ] and he was unable to coordinate the resistance which crumbled in front of the march. The rebel forces would have completely overrun the country far sooner than it ultimately did if not for the country's decrepit infrastructure. In most areas, no paved roads existed; the only vehicle paths were irregularly used dirt roads.

By mid, Kabila's forces resumed their advance, and the remains of Mobutu's army offered almost no resistance.

Mobutu sese seko biography pdf directory: President Mobutu Sese Seko

In Decemberthe National Assembly of the Democratic Republic of the Congo recommended returning his remains, and interring them in a mausoleum in the DRC, which has not yet taken place. Mobutu remains interred in Morocco. Mobutu was married twice. She died of heart failure on 22 October in GenolierSwitzerlandat the age of Two of his sons from his first marriage died during his lifetime, Nyiwa d.

Three more died in the years following his death: Kongulu d. Another son of his, Giala, has also served in the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo as both a member of the National Assembly and the Senate. A daughter, Yakpwa nicknamed Yakiwas briefly married to a Belgian, Pierre Janssen, who later wrote a book [ ] that described Mobutu's lifestyle in vivid detail.

Altogether, Mobutu had sixteen children: [ ]. On trips across Zaire he appropriated the droit de cuissage right to deflower as local chiefs offered him virgins; this practice was considered an honor for the virgin's family. Mobutu was also featured in the feature film Lumumbadirected by Raoul Peckwhich detailed the pre-coup and mobutu sese seko biography pdf directory years from the perspective of Lumumba.

Mobutu also featured in the American documentary When We Were Kingswhich centred on the famed Rumble in the Jungle boxing bout between George Foreman and Muhammad Ali for the heavyweight championship of the world which took place in Kinshasa during Mobutu's rule. In the war adventure film The Wild Geesethe villain, General Ndofa, described in the film as an extremely corrupt leader of a copper-rich nation in central Africa, was a thinly disguised version of Mobutu.

Mobutu also might be considered [ original research? Naipauland Anthills of the Savannah by Chinua Achebe. William Closefather of actress Glenn Closewas once a personal physician to Mobutu and wrote a book focusing on his service in Zaire. Barbara Kingsolver 's historical novel The Poisonwood Bible depicts the events of the Congo Crisis from a fictional standpoint, featuring the role of Mobutu in the crisis.

The French critic Isabelle Hanne praised Zinga's performance as Mobutu, writing he "brilliantly embodies this Shakespearian and bloodthirsty figure. His card, when played, increases the stability of the country then known as Zaire and increases the influence of the United States over the African nation. According to Mobutu's New York Times obituary: "He built his political longevity on three pillars: violence, cunning, and the use of state funds to buy off enemies.

His systematic looting of the national treasury and major industries gave birth to the term ' kleptocracy ' to describe a rule of official corruption that reputedly made him one of the world's wealthiest heads of state. InTime magazine described him as the "archetypal African dictator". Mobutu was infamous for amassing the equivalent of millions of US dollars from his country.

Janssen wrote a book describing Mobutu's daily routine, which included several daily bottles of wine, retainers flown in from overseas, and lavish meals. Mobutu had really staged a funeral for a generation of African leadership of which he—the Dinosaur, as he had long been known—was the paragon: the client dictator of Cold War neocolonialismmonomaniacal, perfectly corrupt, and absolutely ruinous to his nation.

To this end, King offered the bout to any African country that put up the money to host it, in exchange for recognition. Mobutu was willing to fund the ten million dollar purse and host the bout, in order to gain international recognition and legitimacy in the process. Mobutu gained Zaire and its people considerable publicity in the weeks even before the televised bout, as worldwide attention focused on his country.

According to a quote in the film, Ali supposedly said: "Some countries go to war to get their names out there, and wars cost a lot more than ten million dollars. Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikiquote Wikidata item. President of Zaire from to Marie-Antoinette Gbiatibwa Gogbe Yetene.

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Mobutu sese seko biography pdf directory: Zaïrean statesman, President (–97).

The army was his main base, but he maintained his complex political network and was one of the main participants in public policy. It ruled until a new parliament was convened in Augustand a new government was formed with Cyril Adula as Prime Minister. Kasavubu remained president. During this period, four groups competed for power: civilians near Kasavubu, the northern provinces under the leadership of Antoine Gizengi, katanga and a separatist group in Kasai led by Albert Kalonji.

All but Tshombe joined the formation of a new government under Adul, which ruled for two two Years. The new constitution of August 1, established a presidential system that included a federalist structure. Congo was divided into 21 provinces under a new constitutional amendment that created new provinces, and the new constitution formalized the position of the federalists.

Elections were held in March and Aprilbut by the middle of the year there was a deadlock between Tombe and Kasavubu. The army, led by Lieutenant-General Mobutu, intervened again and neutralized the two leaders. On 24 Novemberall executive powers were transferred to Mobutu. Made the use of a different background variety von Mobutu helped bring him to power.

His father, a cook and domestic servant, died inand his mother put her family under the protection of the Ubangi's father. Sese Seko's name Mobutu, adopted inare the names of his paternal uncle, a famous warrior-divine from the village of Gbadorit. It was Gbadorit, not Lizala, That Mobutu considers his ancestral village, and he turned it into an exemplary community with a well-appointed presidential palace, which is often used as a rural retreat.

In his later life, Mobutu often referred to his humble origins as the son of a cook and a victim of a difficult childhood. He finished fourth grade when his father died and then spent ten years in and out of school as his mother took the family to different villages. In Gbadolit, there was a conflict with his paternal uncles, one of whom was expecting a binding marriage to Emo's mother, Mobutu's mother.

InMobutu managed to move to a junior school in Mbandaka. He often faced disciplinary problems in the various Catholic missionary schools in which he attended, including capuchin, scheutists and Freres de Ecoles-Hretienne. InMobutu was finally expelled and received a seven-year disciplinary conscription into the colonial army. His excellent command of the French language won him a desk job there, and he was soon sent to the Kananga Military School where noncommissioned personnel were trained.

At a Kanang school, he met the military generation, who seized control of the country in when Belgian officers fled the country. In he was transferred to the army headquarters in Kinshasa. At the time of his dismissal inhe had reached the sergeant-major in the accounting section, the highest rank, open to the partition There were no African officers in the Belgian colonial army.

InMobutu began writing newspaper articles under the pseudonym De Banzi. Through their military and career, he found powerful European patrons, such as Pierre Daviser, the liberal Belgian editor, and Colonel Marlier, a senior Belgian officer. He also gained notoriety among the new African elite in Kinshasa. His only problem was with the Catholic Church, which considered him a smart but depraved young man with no proper moral qualities.

Mobutu remained antagonistic towards the church throughout his life. He renounced his Catholic marriage to his wife, and he is usually associated with anti-clerical factions as president. InMobutu went to Brussels with a large contingent of zairians who were exhibited at the World's Fair in Brussels as examples of Belgian colonial achievements.

Inhe visited Brussels again and received an internship at the colonial propaganda agency Inforcongo. This position also gave him the opportunity for advanced training in Brussels. In the s, politically ambitious zairians were engaged in the construction of political networks.

Mobutu sese seko biography pdf directory: a Congolese politician and military

Mobutu continued to live in Brussels and was sought by diplomatic, intelligence and financial interests who, during contacts with the citizens of Belgium, loomed as the prospect of early independence. During this period, Mobutu was inspired by contacts between financiers, the CIA, the students of the city and the Belgian security forces.

Mobutu attended a round table in Brussels to discuss Congo's impending independence. Load more. Copy Link. Recommended publications. This is done by focusing especially on the presidential and legislative elections of and