King Leopold's Ghost

By GantRoberson

  • The Congo gains independence from Belgium

  • Period: to

    Congo Crisis

  • Prime Minister of the Congo, Patrice Lumumba, is assassinated

  • Belgian and CIA backed coup leads to Joseph Mobutu gaining power

  • Period: to

    Mobutu Regime

  • The Congo renamed 'Zaire'

  • Congolese rebels based in Angola invade southern Zaire, but are driven back with Western assistance

  • First Congo War begins

  • Joseph Mobutu flees the Congo, and the foreign invasion, led by Rwanda, places Laurent Kabila in power

  • Period: to

    Kabila Regimes

  • Second Congo War, or Great African War, begins

  • Laurent Kabila is assassinated, and is replaced by his son Joseph Kabila

  • Second Congo War ends

  • Joseph Kabila remains in power. The Congo maintains one of the lowest standards of living and levels of democracy globally.