1. Antoine Gizenga was a Congolese politician and statesman who served as the Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 30 December 2006 to 10 October 2008.
27 Facts About Antoine Gizenga
1. 2.
Antoine Gizenga was the Secretary-General of the Unified Lumumbist Party.
3.
Antoine Gizenga was born on 5 October 1925 in the small village of Mbanze in present day Kwilu province in what was then the Belgian Congo.
4.
Antoine Gizenga became an ordained Catholic priest in 1947 and led a parish out of his home in Kwilu.
5.
Antoine Gizenga left his position for personal reasons and took several clerical and accounting jobs.
6.
Antoine Gizenga's government persisted for half the year and garnered diplomatic recognition from the Soviet Union, China, and Egypt, though it received no logistical support.
7.
Antoine Gizenga soon realized that Adoula was under the influence of Western governments and willing to negotiate with rebel leader Moise Tshombe.
8.
Antoine Gizenga denounced Adoula and declared that the government was committing treason.
9.
Antoine Gizenga replied that he would only come back when the Katangan secession was resolved.
10.
Antoine Gizenga then attempted to arrest Armee Nationale Congolaise Commander-in-Chief Victor Lundula and a UN official, both of whom were in Stanleyville to investigate the Kindu atrocity.
11.
The plan backfired when Antoine Gizenga's militiamen refused to obey his orders.
12.
Antoine Gizenga was flown back to Leopoldville via UN aircraft and detained at Camp Kokolo.
13.
Antoine Gizenga turned down an offer of UN protection and was eventually imprisoned on the island Bula Mbemba which lies in the mouth of the Congo River.
14.
In spite of this, Antoine Gizenga quickly organised a Lumumbist party and denounced Tshombe's handling of the Simba rebellion.
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Antoine Gizenga fled to Congo-Brazzaville, though he soon settled in Moscow to pursue a doctorate in political science.
16.
Antoine Gizenga then moved to France, but was deported to Algeria.
17.
The party had very few members, but Antoine Gizenga gained respect for his history of opposing Mobutu.
18.
Antoine Gizenga supported Laurent-Desire Kabila's seizure of power in 1997, which resulted in the country's name being changed back to Democratic Republic of the Congo.
19.
Antoine Gizenga ran as the presidential candidate of PALU in the July 2006 election.
20.
On 30 September 2006, Antoine Gizenga signed a coalition agreement with the AMP, Kabila's platform, whereby he would back Kabila in the second round of the presidential election in October 2006, in exchange for the premiership.
21.
Antoine Gizenga subsequently appointed Gizenga as Informant, a position that involves identifying a parliamentary majority so that a government can be formed, and then appointed Gizenga as Prime Minister on 30 December 2006.
22.
Antoine Gizenga delegated his duties as Secretary-General of PALU to Remy Mayele on 14 September 2007.
23.
On 25 September 2008, Antoine Gizenga submitted his resignation as Prime Minister to Kabila.
24.
Antoine Gizenga had not received a response from Kabila at that point.
25.
Antoine Gizenga's successor, Adolphe Muzito, was appointed by Kabila on 10 October 2008; Muzito is a member of PALU and was Minister of the Budget in Gizenga's government.
26.
Antoine Gizenga promptly resumed his duties as Secretary-General of PALU on 13 October 2008,13 months after delegating them to Remy Mayele.
27.
Antoine Gizenga died at the Centre Medical de Kinshasa on 24 February 2019, aged 93.