"President of Zaire" redirects here. For the only president while the country was named Zaire, see Mobutu Sese Seko. Not to be confused with List of presidents of the Republic of the Congo.
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This is a list of presidents of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly the Republic of the Congo and Zaire) since the country's independence in 1960.
The current president is Félix Tshisekedi, since 24 January 2019.
List of officeholders
- Political parties
- Other affiliations
- Symbols
- Status
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) |
Elected | Term of office | Political party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | |||||
| Republic of the Congo (1960–1971) | |||||||
| 1 | 
|
Joseph Kasa-Vubu (1910–1969) |
1960 | 1 July 1960 | 24 November 1965 (Deposed in a coup) |
5 years, 146 days | ABAKO |
| 2 | 
|
Joseph-Désiré Mobutu (1930–1997) |
— | 24 November 1965 | 27 October 1971 | 5 years, 337 days | Military (until 1967) |
| 1970 | MPR | ||||||
| Republic of Zaire (1971–1997) | |||||||
| (2) |
|
Mobutu Sese Seko (1930–1997) |
1977 1984 |
27 October 1971 | 16 May 1997 (Deposed in a civil war) |
25 years, 201 days | MPR |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo (1997–present) | |||||||
| 3 | .jpg)
|
Laurent-Désiré Kabila (1939–2001) |
— | 17 May 1997 | 16 January 2001 (Assassinated) |
3 years, 244 days | Independent member of the AFDL |
| — | 
|
Joseph Kabila (born 1971) |
— | 17 January 2001 | 26 January 2001 | 9 days | Independent (until 2002) |
| 4 | 2006 2011 |
17 January 2001 | 24 January 2019 | 18 years, 7 days | PPRD | ||
| 5 | .jpg)
|
Félix Tshisekedi (born 1963) |
2018 2023 |
24 January 2019 | Incumbent | 5 years, 349 days | UDPS |
Timeline
Rank by time in office
| Rank | President | Time in office |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mobutu Sese Seko | 31 years, 173 days |
| 2 | Joseph Kabila | 18 years, 7 days |
| 3 | Félix Tshisekedi | 5 years, 349 days |
| 4 | Joseph Kasa-Vubu | 5 years, 146 days |
| 5 | Laurent-Désiré Kabila | 3 years, 245 days |
See also
- Politics of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- List of colonial governors of the Congo Free State and Belgian Congo
Notes
- Previously named Joseph-Désiré Mobutu; changed name on 10 January 1972 due to the policy of Zairianisation.
References
- Makumeno, Emery (31 December 2023). "DR Congo election: President Felix Tshisekedi declared landslide winner". BBC. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ "Congo Changes Name To the Zaire Republic". New York Times. Reuters. 28 October 1971. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
- Howard W. French (17 May 1997). "MOBUTU GIVES UP, LEAVING KINSHASA AND CEDING POWER". New York Times. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
External links
| President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (list) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Republic of the Congo (1960–1971) |  | |
| Republic of Zaire (1971–1997) | ||
| Democratic Republic of the Congo (1997–present) | ||
| Democratic Republic of the Congo articles | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| History | |||||
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