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Patrice Lumumba

Congolese politician and independence leader (1925-1961) · Politicians · Died at 35

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The first prime minister of an independent Congo, in office for three months before a coup, capture, torture, and execution that Belgium would apologize for four decades later.

PoliticiansDesignerPolitics20th Century

A life in dates

2004Order of the Companions of O. R. TamboAward1961Died17 January 19611960Named Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the CongoOffice24 June to 14 September 1960“We who suffered in our bodies and hearts from colonialist oppression, we say to you out loud: from now on, all that is over.”In their words30 June 1960, as quoted in The Real Story Behind Patrice Lumumba’s Assassination, Isaac Chotiner, 2023, The New Yorker

Grand Cross of the Order of the CrownAward1925Born2 July 1925

Also in Deutsch

Photos 12

Photograph of Lumumba, c. 1950sPhotograph of Lumumba, c. 1950sLumumba in 1958Lumumba in 1958Lumumba pictured in Brussels at the Round Table Conference with other members of the MNC-L delegation, 26 January 1960Lumumba pictured in Brussels at the Round Table Conference with other members of the MNC-L delegation, 26 January 1960Lumumba (left centre) poses with his government outside the Palais de la Nation immediately following its investiture.Lumumba (left centre) poses with his government outside the Palais de la Nation immediately following its investiture.Lumumba waving to supporters, c. 1960Lumumba waving to supporters, c. 1960The independence ceremony for the Congo, held on 30 June 1960, at which Lumumba delivered his independence speechThe independence ceremony for the Congo, held on 30 June 1960, at which Lumumba delivered his independence speech

In their own words 10

,
Patrice Lumumba
,
10 statements, newest first

  1. We who suffered in our bodies and hearts from colonialist oppression, we say to you out loud: from now on, all that is over.

    Jun 30, 1960, 30 June 1960, as quoted in The Real Story Behind Patrice Lumumba’s Assassination, Isaac Chotiner, 2023, The New Yorker, Own words

  2. No Congolese worthy of the name will ever to be able to forget that this independence has been won through a struggle in which we did not spare our energy and our blood...

    1690, The new leaders of Africa Rolf Italiaander, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., Prentice-Hall 1690, p 159. Patrice Lumumba at the Ceremony of the, Own words

  3. While our brothers in Kenya, Nyasa-land, Rhodesia, South Africa and Angola are still fighting for their freedom, look at the wonderful future that smiles at us.

    1690, The new leaders of Africa Rolf Italiaander, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., Prentice-Hall 1690, p 155. Patrice Lumumba at the round table, Own words

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Awards

Order of the Companions of O. R. Tambo2004
Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown, Baudouin I of Belgium1960

Family

Patrice Lumumba

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About this person

Born Isaïe Tasumbu Tawosa on 2 July 1925, he led the Congolese National Movement from 1958 and became prime minister in June 1960 after the May election that followed independence from Belgium. An African nationalist and pan-Africanist, he held the role until September, when an army mutiny triggered the Congo Crisis. After a coup by Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, he tried to reach Stanleyville to join supporters who had formed the Free Republic of the Congo. State authorities captured him en route, sent him to Katanga, where separatist forces under Moïse Tshombe - aided by Belgian mercenaries - tortured and killed him on 17 January 1961, then dissolved his body in acid. Belgium admitted moral responsibility in 2002 and returned his tooth to his family in 2022.

Category
Politicians
Type
Politician
Status
deceased
Dates
Lived 1925 to 1961 · aged 35

Politicians born in the 1920s 6

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