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Independence from Belgium
The Belgian Congo achieved independence on June 30, 1960 under the name République du Congo ("Republic of the Congo").
POLITICAL -
Mobutu Seizes Power
On 25 November 1965, General Mobutu seized power.
Unrest and rebellion plagued the government until 1965, when Mobutu, by then a lieutenant general and commander-in-chief of the national army, again seized control of the country and declared himself president for 5 years. Mobutu quickly centralized power into his own hands and was elected unopposed as president in 1970.
POLITICAL -
Name Change
Joseph Mobutu renames the country Zaire and himself Mobutu Sese Seko; also, Katanga becomes Shaba and the river Congo becomes the river Zaire.
POLITICAL -
Loans from Belgium
In November 1988, Belgium had offered to postpone for ten years the due dates of state-to-state loans and to make new arrangements concerning Zaire's guaranteed commercial debt to Belgium. However, this relatively liberal stance toward Zaire was criticized in the Belgian parliament and especially in the press, where Mobutu was depicted as an autocrat who had led his country into economic ruin. In response, Zaire renounced all measures of reduction of its debt undertaken by Belgium. -
Rwandan Genocide
The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass murder of an estimated 800,000 people in the small East African nation of Rwanda. The assassination of presidents Juvénal Habyarimana and Cyprien Ntaryamira in the evening of April 6, 1994 was the proximate trigger for the Rwandan Genocide. Up to a million refugees arrive in Goma, DR Congo.
SOCIAL -
First Congo War
The First Congo War (November 1996 to May 1997) was a revolution in Zaire that replaced President Mobutu Sésé Seko, a decades-long dictator, with rebel leader Laurent-Désiré Kabila.
SOCIAL -
Name Change
On May 17, 1997, the African country of Zaire became known as the Democratic Republic of Congo. This name is not really new; before the country was called Zaire, it had been known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was changed to Zaire by Mobutu who seized control of the country and declared himself president for 5 years. Mobutu quickly centralized power into his own hands and was elected unopposed as president in 1970.
POLITICAL -
Mobutu Dies
Died at a military hospital in Morocco. He had been hospitalized there since July, 1997. The cause of death was described as a long illness. Mobutu had reportedly been suffering from advanced prostate cancer and had traveled to Europe for medical treatment during the last year of his rule.
POLITICAL -
Second Congo War
The largest war in modern African history, it directly involved eight African nations, as well as about 25 armed groups. By 2008 the war and its aftermath had killed 5.4 million people, mostly from disease and starvation,[4] making the Second Congo War the deadliest conflict worldwide since World War II.
SOCIAL -
Democratic Elections
A general election was held on Sunday 30 July 2006, which were the first free multi-party elections in 46 years. Voters went to the polls to elect a new President, federal parliament and provincial parliaments. A run-off election was held on 29 October to choose the president as no candidate had obtained more than 50% of the vote. Joseph Kabila was elected in the second round with 58% of the vote.
POLITICAL -
Financial Crisis
The D.R.C.’s economic environment changed dramatically beginning in late 2008 and throughout 2009 as the country was significantly and negatively impacted by the global financial crisis. By early 2009, the D.R.C. was facing a serious fiscal and monetary crisis. The international community responded quickly to the D.R.C.’s deteriorating economic situation by providing emergency financial assistance.
ECONOMIC -
IMF Loan
The International Monetary Fund approved a three-year $550 million loan arrangement for the Democratic Republic of Congo, making the country eligible for an IMF debt relief program.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) works to foster international monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world.
