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Mobutu Sese Seko | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Joseph-Désiré Mobutu 14 October 1930 Lisala, Belgian-occupied Congo |
| Died | 7 September 1997 (aged 66) Rabat, Morocco |
| Political orientation | Fascism |
| Political party | Popular Movement of the Revolution |
Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa za Banga (14 October 1930 – 7 September 1997) was a Congolese politician and military officer who ruled Zaire as president from 1965 to 1997.[a] Mobuto was a billionaire dictator backed by the U.S. and was described by George H. W. Bush as "our best friend in Africa."[1]
Raised by European friars, he overthrew and murdered the left-wing prime minister Patrice Lumumba in 1960 with U.S. and Belgian support.[2] He then ruled Zaire from 1965 until 1997 when he was forced to flee from power, at the time having $6 billion USD stored in various Swiss banks.[3] His Zaireanization policy promoted tribalism and changed the name of himself and his country to seem more African while doing nothing to stop colonialism.[2]
Notes[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Mobutu renamed the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Zaire in 1971. This change was reversed after his overthrow in 1997.
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ William Blum (2002). Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower: 'A Concise History of United States Global Interventions, 1945 to the Present' (p. 118). [PDF] Zed Books Ltd. ISBN 9781842772201 [LG]
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Vijay Prashad (2008). The Darker Nations: A People's History of the Third World: 'Mecca' (p. 262). [PDF] The New Press. ISBN 9781595583420 [LG]
- ↑ Vijay Prashad (2008). The Darker Nations: A People's History of the Third World: 'La Paz' (p. 141). [PDF] The New Press. ISBN 9781595583420 [LG]