Sylvestre Mudingayi (11 November 1912 – ?) was a Congolese politician who served as the President of the Senate of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from October 1965 until June 1967.
Sylvestre Kongolo Mudingayi | |
---|---|
President of the Senate of the Democratic Republic of the Congo | |
In office September 1965 – 24 June 1967 | |
Preceded by | Isaac Kalonji |
Succeeded by | position abolished[a] |
Personal details | |
Born | 11 November 1912 Lusambo, Kasai Province, Belgian Congo |
Died | unknown |
Political party | Parti National du Progrès Front Démocratique Congolais |
Sylvestre Mudingayi was born on 11 November 1912 in Lusambo, Kasai Province, Belgian Congo[1] to a Luba family.[2] In 1932 he became a chief clerk at the Banque du Congo Belge. He was a member of the évolué social class.[3] In 1945 he chaired the Cercle d'Agrément Prince Léopold III de Lusambo.[4]
Mudingayi was classified by Christian missionaries as a "socialist" due to his advocacy for the establishment of secular schools.[1] In 1953 he traveled to Belgium where he was received by the Liberal Party.[5] In March 1959 he was appointed by the Governor-General of the Congo to serve on the consultative Conseil de Gouvernement.[6] Mudingayi later became president of the Kasai chapter of the Parti National du Progrès (PNP). He founded and became editor of the leftist anti-clericalist newspaper La Lumière, a bimonthly publication of the party.[1]
Mudingayi participated in the Belgo-Congolese Round Table Conference of 1960 that earned the Congo's independence.[7] While campaigning for the PNP in the Luputa region of Kasai in March for the upcoming elections, he was assaulted by opposing political activists.[8] His injuries were severe and he was forced to make a near-total withdrawal from politics.[7]
In September 1965 Mudingayi was elected President of the Senate as a member of the Front Démocratique Congolais (FDC) in a surprise victory over the incumbent, Isaac Kalonji, 57 votes to 54.[9] He served until the enactment of a new constitution on 24 June 1967.[10]