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Political crises (1960-1965)
In May 1960, the MNC party or Mouvement National Congolais, led by Patrice
Lumumba, won the parliamentary elections, and Lumumba was appointed Prime
Minister. Joseph Kasavubu, of the ABAKO (Alliance des Bakongo) party, was
elected President by the parliament. Other parties that emerged include the
Parti Solidaire Africain (or PSA, led by Antoine Gizenga) and the Parti National
du Peuple (or PNP led by Albert Delvaux and Laurent Mbariko).
The Belgian Congo achieved independence on June 30, 1960 under the name
"Republic of Congo" or "Republic of the Congo" ("République du Congo"). As the
French colony of Middle Congo (Moyen Congo) also chose the name "Republic of
Congo" upon receiving its independence, the two countries were more commonly
known as "Congo-Léopoldville" and "Congo-Brazzaville", after their capital
cities. In 1966, Joseph Mobutu changed the country's official name to
"Democratic Republic of the Congo", and in 1971 it was changed again to
"Republic of Zaïre".
Shortly after independence, the provinces of Katanga (with Moise Tshombe) and
South Kasai engaged in secessionist struggles against the new leadership.
Subsequent events led to a crisis between President Kasavubu and Prime Minister
Lumumba. On September 5, 1960, Kasavubu dismissed Lumumba from office. Lumumba
declared Kasavubu's action "unconstitutional" and a crisis between the two
leaders developed.
Lumumba had previously appointed Joseph Mobutu chief of staff of the new Congo
army, Armee Nationale Congolaise (ANC). Taking advantage of the leadership
crisis between Kasavubu and Lumumba, Mobutu garnered enough support within the
army to create sentiment sufficient to inspire mutinous action. With financial
support from the United States and Belgium, Mobutu made payments to his soldiers
in order to generate their loyalty. The aversion of Western powers towards
communism and leftist ideology in general influenced their decision to finance
Mobutu's quest to maintain "order" in the new state by neutralizing Kasavubu and
Lumumba in a coup by proxy.
On January 17, 1961, Katangan forces, supported by the Belgian government's
desire to retain rights to mine for copper and diamonds in Katanga and South
Kasai and the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency's desire to remove any leftist
sympathizers in the region, assassinated Patrice Lumumba. Amidst widespread
confusion and chaos, a temporary government led by technicians (College des
Commissaires) with Evariste Kimba, and several short governments Joseph Ileo,
Cyrille Adoula, Moise Tshombe took over in quick succession.
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