1. Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja was born on 3 February 1944 and is a Congolese academic, author, and diplomat.
22 Facts About Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja
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Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja is a professor of African and Afro-American Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he specialises in African and global studies.
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Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja was the Permanent Representative of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the United Nations from 2022 until 2023.
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Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja was born on 3 February 1944 in Kasha, South Kivu in the Belgian Congo.
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Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja quickly became involved in American activism, participating in civil rights movement in the United States, pushing for the college to end discrimination against Black employees, and advocating for a more comprehensive curriculum.
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Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy in 1967, before completing a Master of Arts in diplomacy and international commerce in 1968 from the University of Kentucky.
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Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja had teaching appointments in the University of Kisangani, Congo-Kinshasa from 1970 to 1971, the University of Lubumbashi from 1971 to 1975, Clark-Atlanta University between 1975 and 1977, and the University of Maiduguri in Nigeria between 1977 and 1978.
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Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja became a professor of African studies at Howard University between 1978 and 1997, and the James K Batten Professor of Public Policy at Davidson College, North Carolina, between 1998 and 1999.
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Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja was a visiting professor at El Colegio de Mexico in the summer of 1987.
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Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja has been a professor in the Department of African-American and Diaspora Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill since 2007.
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Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja served as President of the African Studies Association of the United States in 1988, as a member of the executive committee of the International Political Science Association from 1994 to 1997, and as President of the African Association of Political Science from 1995 to 1997.
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Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja was elected a Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences in 1988.
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Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja has extensive research on African politics, development, and conflict issues, and has authored several books and numerous articles on these topics.
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Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja was subjected to lengthy interrogations by the Security Police.
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Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja have been a member of the African National Congress and the Congolese People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy since 1991.
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Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja has been a vocal critic of authoritarianism and corruption in the country, and has called for greater democracy and human rights protections in the Congo.
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Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja has been involved in politics and contributed to his country's shift away from Mobutu's authoritarian rule.
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Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja was the Director of the Oslo Governance Center from 2002 to 2005.
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Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja was the Permanent Representative of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the United Nations, having presented his credentials to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on 13 January 2022.
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In June 2022, Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja asked the Security Council to demand an unconditional withdrawal of the M23 from Bunagana and parts of Rutshuru territory in eastern Congo during the United Nations Security Council meeting.
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On 26 October 2022, Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja accused Rwanda of occupying the DRC between 1998 and 2003 and committing atrocities, including plundering the Congolese economy and stealing chimpanzees and other animals.
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On 9 January 2023, Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja was replaced by Zenon Mukongo Ngay.