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Antoine Gizenga

Summary

Antoine Gizenga (5 October 1925 – 24 February 2019) was a Congolese (DRC) politician who was the Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 30 December 2006 to 10 October 2008. He was the Secretary-General of the Unified Lumumbist Party (Parti Lumumbiste Unifié, PALU).

Antoine Gizenga
Gizenga in 2009
21st Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
In office
30 December 2006 – 10 October 2008
PresidentJoseph Kabila
Preceded byLikulia Bolongo
Succeeded byAdolphe Muzito
Deputy Prime Minister of Congo-Léopoldville
In office
24 June 1960 – 14 September 1960
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byJean Bolikango
Prime Minister of Congo-Stanleyville
In office
12 December 1960 – 5 August 1961
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byOffice abolished
Personal details
Born(1925-10-05)5 October 1925
Mbanze, Belgian Congo
(now Kwilu, Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Died24 February 2019(2019-02-24) (aged 93)
Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Political partyPALU
PSA

Early life edit

Antoine Gizenga was born on 5 October 1925 in the small village of Mbanze in present day Kwilu province in what was then the Belgian Congo.[1][2] He attended a Catholic missionary primary school and received his secondary education at the Kinzambi and Mayidi seminaries. He became an ordained Catholic priest in 1947 and led a parish out of his home in Kwilu. He left his position for personal reasons and took several clerical and accounting jobs. After briefly serving in law enforcement for the colonial government, Gizenga became a teacher at a secondary Catholic school. He soon thereafter married Anne Mbuba, with whom he later had four children.[2]

Early political career edit

Inspired by the nationalist and Pan-Africanist ideas of Patrice Lumumba, the co-founder of the Mouvement National Congolais, Gizenga helped to organize the Parti Solidaire Africain (which was openly left leaning).[2] He later became the leader of the party. Following independence and free elections in 1960, Gizenga became Lumumba's deputy prime minister of the new Republic of the Congo.[3]

 
Gizenga in 1961

In September, President Joseph Kasa-Vubu dismissed Lumumba and Gizenga from their positions for the former's decision to involve the Soviet Union in the Congo Crisis. Lumumba protested, and the government went into a deadlock over the issue. A coup launched shortly thereafter by Colonel Joseph Mobutu politically incapacitated both Lumumba and the President, though Mobutu soon developed a working relationship with the latter. Gizenga objected to the new government and left for Stanleyville on 13 November to form his own.[4] On 12 December, he declared his government, the Free Republic of the Congo, to be the legitimate ruling authority in the Congo.[5] Lumumba had attempted to join him, but was arrested and eventually executed in the State of Katanga in January 1961.[3] Gizenga's government persisted for half the year and garnered diplomatic recognition from the Soviet Union, China, and Egypt, though it received no logistical support.[2]

In August, Gizenga agreed to rejoin the regular Congolese government as deputy prime minister, now under the leadership of Cyrille Adoula. Aside from his reinstatement ceremony, he chose to stay out of Léopoldville and remained in Stanleyville.[6] Gizenga soon realized that Adoula was under the influence of Western governments and willing to negotiate with rebel leader Moise Tshombe. He denounced Adoula and declared that the government was committing treason.[2]

In January 1962 the Congolese Assembly demanded that Gizenga return to Léopoldville to hear charges levied against him for leading a rebel government. He replied that he would only come back when the Katangan secession was resolved. Gizenga then attempted to arrest Armée Nationale Congolaise Commander-in-Chief Victor Lundula and a UN official, both of whom were in Stanleyville to investigate the Kindu atrocity. The plan backfired when Gizenga's militiamen refused to obey his orders. Clashes between his regular supporters and Congolese soldiers ensued, resulting in several deaths. United Nations Secretary General U Thant ordered peacekeeping troops to restore order in Stanleyville, while Adoula had Gizenga placed under house arrest by UN and Congolese troops. He was flown back to Léopoldville via UN aircraft and detained at Camp Kokolo.[6]

Gizenga turned down an offer of UN protection and was eventually imprisoned on the island Bula Mbemba which lies in the mouth of the Congo River.[4] In July 1964 Tshombe became prime minister and, as part of an attempted political reconciliation, ordered Gizenga's release. In spite of this, Gizenga quickly organised a Lumumbist party and denounced Tshombe's handling of the Simba rebellion. As a result, Gizenga was placed under house arrest in September.[7] Mobutu seized power in a coup in November 1965, thereby freeing Gizenga.[4] He fled to Congo-Brazzaville, though he soon settled in Moscow to pursue a doctorate in political science.[2]

Over the next couple of years Gizenga traveled to Egypt, Guinea, Mali, and Ghana to solicit support for the fractured and crumbling anti-Mobutu movement. In 1973 he briefly joined Laurent-Désiré Kabila's pro-China rebel group in eastern Zaire (as The Congo was then called), thereby losing Soviet support. He then moved to France, but was deported to Algeria. After briefly living in Angola, he returned to the Republic of the Congo before finally settling in Canada.[2] Mobutu invited him to return to Zaire in 1977 to serve as a figurehead for opposition groups, but Gizenga declined.[4]

Later political career edit

Mobutu began democratizing Zaire in 1990, allowing Gizenga to return to the country. By 1993, he had consolidated Lumumbist organizations into the Parti Lumumbiste Unifié (PALU).[4] The party had very few members, but Gizenga gained respect for his history of opposing Mobutu.[2] He supported Laurent-Désiré Kabila's seizure of power in 1997, which resulted in the country's name being changed back to The Congo. The following year his house was ransacked by police and several PALU demonstrators were shot,[2] and he subsequently opposed Kabila's leadership.[8]

Gizenga ran as the presidential candidate of PALU in the July 2006 election.[9] According to the provisional election results of 20 August, he came in third place with 13.06 percent of the vote, after Joseph Kabila (Laurent-Désiré's son) and Jean-Pierre Bemba.[10] On 30 September 2006, Gizenga signed a coalition agreement with the AMP, Kabila's platform, whereby he would back Kabila in the second round of the presidential election in October 2006, in exchange for the premiership. Kabila won the election and was sworn in as President on 6 December 2006. He subsequently appointed Gizenga as Informant, a position that involves identifying a parliamentary majority so that a government can be formed,[11] and then appointed Gizenga as Prime Minister on 30 December 2006.[12] Gizenga's new government, with 59 members (excluding himself), was appointed and announced on 5 February 2007.[13][14] A new government under Gizenga was announced on 25 November 2007, with its size reduced to 44 ministers.[15]

Gizenga delegated his duties as Secretary-General of PALU to Remy Mayele on 14 September 2007.[16]

On 25 September 2008, Gizenga submitted his resignation as Prime Minister to Kabila. Later in the day he announced this on television, saying that he decided to resign due to his advanced age. According to Gizenga, he felt unable to continue in office: "For every man, even if you are sane and alert, your body has limits which you have to recognise".[17] He had not received a response from Kabila at that point. Reacting to the news, the opposition Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC) said that Gizenga's "resignation constitutes an admission of failure and negligence from a government which, after nearly two years, left the country in a general state of crisis". The MLC disputed Gizenga's statement that his resignation was related to age and health.[18] Kabila reportedly "officially acknowledged" Gizenga's resignation in a letter sent to Gizenga on 28 September.[19] The governing coalition, the Alliance for the Presidential Majority, remained in place after Gizenga's resignation, and negotiations were held regarding the selection of a successor to Gizenga.[20]

His successor, Adolphe Muzito, was appointed by Kabila on 10 October 2008; Muzito is also a member of PALU and was Minister of the Budget in Gizenga's government.[21] Gizenga promptly resumed his duties as Secretary-General of PALU on 13 October 2008, 13 months after delegating them to Remy Mayele.[16]

On 30 June 2009, it was announced that Kabila had designated Gizenga as a National Hero, the DRC's highest honor. His admission to the Order of the National Heroes Kabila-Lumumba made him its only living member and entitled him to a "monthly payment equivalent to the earnings of a prime minister, a residence, a garage with six vehicles, a guard including 12 members of the national police".[22]

Gizenga died at the Centre Médical de Kinshasa on 24 February 2019, aged 93.[23][24]

See also edit

Citations edit

  1. ^ Gizenga, Antoine (2011). Ma vie et mes luttes. Editions L'Harmattan. p. 11. ISBN 9782296472204. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Dictionary of African Biography. Vol. 6. OUP USA. 2012. pp. 466–468. ISBN 9780195382075. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  3. ^ a b Watkins, Thayer. "Patrice Lumumba: The Truth About His Life and Legacy". San Jose State University. Archived from the original on 24 September 2016. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d e Kisangani, Emizet Francois (2016). Historical Dictionary of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (4 ed.). Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 263–264. ISBN 9781442273160.
  5. ^ James, Alan (1996). Britain and the Congo Crisis, 1960–63 (illustrated ed.). Springer. pp. xix. ISBN 9781349245284. Archived from the original on 19 August 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  6. ^ a b O'Ballance 1999, pp. 64–65
  7. ^ O'Ballance 1999, p. 70.
  8. ^ Villafana, Frank R. (2011). Cold War in the Congo: The Confrontation of Cuban Military Forces, 1960-1967. Transaction Publishers. p. 193. ISBN 9781412815222.
  9. ^ "Profile: Congo opposition candidates". BBC News Online. 25 July 2006. Archived from the original on 21 August 2006. Retrieved 30 July 2006.
  10. ^ "Kabila gets 44.8 pct in Congo poll, goes to run-off". Reuters. Retrieved 20 August 2006. [dead link]
  11. ^ Kari Barber, "Congo President Begins Forming New Government" Archived 27 December 2006 at the Wayback Machine, VOA News, 21 December 2006.
  12. ^ Joe Bavier, "Congo names opposition veteran, 81, prime minister" Archived 14 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Reuters, 30 December 2006.
  13. ^ "La composition du nouveau gouvernement de la RDC connue" [permanent dead link], African Press Agency, 5 February 2007 (in French).
  14. ^ "Le nouveau gouvernement de la République Démocratique du Congo est constitué" Archived 16 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine, Afrik.com, 6 February 2007 (in French).
  15. ^ "RD Congo: Liste du nouveau gouvernement congolais" Archived 29 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine , Panapress, 26 November 2007 (in French).
  16. ^ a b St. Augustin Kinienzi, "Congo-Kinshasa: PALU – A. Gizenga reprend ses fonctions de secrétaire général" Archived 16 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine, La Potentiel, 16 October 2008 (in French).
  17. ^ "DR Congo's prime minister, 83, quits citing old age" Archived 20 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine, AFP, 25 September 2008.
  18. ^ "Gizenga's resignation 'an admission of failure': opposition" Archived 20 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine, AFP, 26 September 2008.
  19. ^ "DR Congo president 'acknowledges' PM's resignation" Archived 20 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine, AFP, 29 September 2008.
  20. ^ Franz Wild, "Congo Coalition to Stay After Premier's Departure (Update1)", Bloomberg.com, 30 September 2008.
  21. ^ "DR Congo president names new prime minister: report" Archived 20 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine, AFP, 10 October 2008.
  22. ^ "DR Congo's ex-PM, Antoine Gizenga, made national hero" Archived 13 April 2010 at the Wayback Machine, AFP, 30 June 2009.
  23. ^ "Antoine Gizenga est décédé". Actualite.cd (in French). 24 February 2019. Archived from the original on 25 February 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  24. ^ "Décès de Gizenga, ancien Premier ministre et compagnon de Lumumba". VOA. 24 February 2019. Archived from the original on 26 July 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2021.

References edit

  • O'Ballance, Edgar (1999). The Congo-Zaire Experience, 1960–98. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-230-28648-1.
Political offices
Preceded by Prime Minister of the Congo-Kinshasa
2006–2008 		Succeeded by

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