Sophie Kanza was the first woman of her country to receive a secondary education, the first to graduate from a university, and the first to hold a government office in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, serving as Minister of Social Affairs from 31 October 1966 to 6 December 1970.
19 Facts About Sophie Kanza
1.
2.
Sophie Kanza was born on 8 February 1940 in Leopoldville, Belgian Congo, the sixth of seven children to Elisabeth Mansangaza and Daniel Kanza.
3.
Sophie Kanza received much of her primary and secondary education in Brazzaville, French Congo.
4.
At the time of the Belgian Congo's independence in 1960, Kanza was the only woman in the country who had been enrolled in secondary education.
5.
Sophie Kanza studied at Harvard University from 1973 to 1976, earning a master's degree and a PhD in sociology.
6.
On 31 October 1966, Sophie Kanza was appointed Minister of Social Affairs, becoming the first woman in the country to hold government office.
7.
Sophie Kanza's appointment came while she was pursuing a PhD at the University of Geneva, but she ended her studies to assume office.
Related searches
Daniel Kanza 8.
Sophie Kanza spent most of her initial time in office examining the ministry's struggles to meet the needs of the population.
9.
Sophie Kanza advocated for equal education opportunities for both boys and girls, and served as a delegate to the Organisation of African Unity summit in Kinshasa in 1967.
10.
Sophie Kanza was made a member of the political bureau of the Mouvement Populaire de la Revolution on 13 October 1967.
11.
Sophie Kanza was dismissed as Minister of Social Affairs in a cabinet reshuffle on 6 December 1970.
12.
From 1973 until 1977, Sophie Kanza was a member of the Board of Trustees of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research.
13.
Sophie Kanza was Deputy Assistant Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation from 1981 to 1985, and Head of Mission to the Director-General of UNESCO from 1985 to 1988.
14.
Sophie Kanza married Marcel Lihau, future President of the Supreme Court of Justice, on 26 December 1964, and they had six daughters.
15.
In 1998, Sophie Kanza was involved in a car accident in Paris, and she became a paraplegic.
16.
Sophie Kanza suffered cardiac arrest and died on 2 April 1999.
17.
In 2004, Sophie Kanza was inducted into the Congo's Pantheon of National History, one of the first women to be accorded the honour.
18.
Sophie Kanza's bust is displayed in the Gallery of Memory.
19.
Three of Sophie Kanza's daughters organized a mass of thanksgiving in honor of herself and her husband in Gombe on 28 March 2015.