Mobutu Sese Seko
1930 – 1997 Congolese military ruler, president of Zaire
Longtime dictator of the Congo, which he renamed Zaire, and a favored Cold War client of the West.
- Religion
- Roman Catholic
- Affiliations
- Popular Movement of the Revolution
Joseph-Desire Mobutu, later Mobutu Sese Seko, was an army officer who seized power in the Congo in 1965 after years of crisis, having earlier helped sideline Lumumba. He ruled for over three decades, renaming the country Zaire and pursuing an authenticite campaign while building a kleptocratic state and a personal fortune. The United States and other Western powers backed him as a bulwark against communism in central Africa. His rule ended in 1997 when rebels led by Laurent Kabila drove him out during the First Congo War.
Connections
- rival of Patrice Lumumba — Mobutu seized power and played a role in his removal and death.
- rival of Patrice Lumumba — Took part in his overthrow and rose to power in his place.
In the timeline
- 1960 Mobutu's first coup and the sidelining of Lumumba the coup leader
- 1965 – 1997 Mobutu, Zaire, and lending to a dictator mentioned
- 1965 Mobutu seizes power in a CIA-backed coup the coup leader
- 1965 Mobutu's Zaire as a Cold War client the client ruler
- 1965 Mobutu Sese Seko seizes full power in the Congo the ruler
- 1967 Mobutu's copper state and the Cold War bargain mentioned
- 1971 Mobutu renames the country Zaire and launches authenticité the ruler
- 1971 Mobutu turns Zaire into a Cold War client and personal treasury mentioned
- 1996 The First Congo War topples Mobutu the overthrown ruler
- 1996 Rwanda topples Mobutu in the First Congo War mentioned
- 1997 Mobutu falls and Kabila proclaims the DRC mentioned
- 1997 Mobutu's fortune leaves Zaire mentioned