Laurent-Desire Kabila

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Laurent-Désiré Kabila , 1939–2001, Congolese political and rebel leader. He studied at universities in France and Tanzania. returning home in 1960. He supported Patrice Lumumba , established (1967) a Marxist party, and led a group of rebels that opposed Joseph Mobutu (later Mobutu Sese Seko ). Spending most of the 1980s in Tanzania, Kabila resurfaced in Zaïre in the 1990s, again becoming the leader of a rebel army. In 1997, while Mobutu was in Europe, Kabila led his forces (which were supported by Uganda and Rwanda) into Kinshasa and 12 days later was sworn in as president; he soon changed the country's name back to Congo. In 1998 he established two national assemblies, but any movement toward democracy soon ended when he banned all political opposition and proceeded to establish a repressive regime. In mid-1998 a rebellion broke out among Tutsis in E Congo, supported by Kabila's former allies Uganda and Rwanda. A ceasefire was reached in 1999, but the rebellion grew and sporadic fighting continued. In 2001 Kabila was assassinated, apparently by one of his bodyguards, and his son, Joseph Kabila , succeeded him as president.

Kabila, Laurent-Désiré (b. 1 Jan 1958; d. 16 Jan 2001). President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, 1997–2001 Born in Moba, Shaba province, he went to France to study philosophy. He returned to Congo in 1960, but after the military coup of 1961 became a leading figure of the underground movement. He opposed the Mobutu regime from the beginning, but was unsuccessful at rallying sufficient resources in finance and manpower to succeed. In 1996, finally, he founded a broad coalition moment named the Alliance for the Liberation of Congo-Zaïre. His forces were increasingly successful against the ailing Mobutu, and in 1997 he took the capital, Kinshasa. He proclaimed himself President on 29 May 1997. Hopes that Kabila would create democratic rule and end the corruption of his predecessors, however, were soon dashed, as he amassed more and more powers. His consequent failure to integrate different groups into his government led to the continuation of the civil war. He was murdered by a bodyguard, and succeeded by his son, Joseph.