Patrice Émery Lumumba was a Congolese independence leader and the first legally elected Prime Minister

Prime minister

A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...

 of the Republic of the Congo

Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville)

The Republic of the Congo was an independent republic established following the independence granted to the former colony of the Belgian Congo in 1960...

 after he helped win its independence from Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

 in June 1960. Only ten weeks later, Lumumba's government was deposed in a coup during the Congo Crisis

Congo Crisis

The Congo Crisis was a period of turmoil in the First Republic of the Congo that began with national independence from Belgium and ended with the seizing of power by Joseph Mobutu...

. He was subsequently imprisoned and executed by firing squad, an act that many believe was committed with the assistance of the government of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and for which the Belgian government officially apologized in 2002.
Lumumba was born in Onalua in the Katakokombe

Katakokombe

Katakokombe is a region of the Kasai region of what was formerly known as the Belgian Congo, now the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is the homeland of the Tetela people. After the independence of Congo in June 1960, it seceded for a while under influence of Belgium and became an independent...

 region of the Kasai

Kasai region

The Kasai region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is divided administratively into Kasai-Occidental and Kasai-Oriental. It shares its name with the Kasai River....

 province of the Belgian Congo

Belgian Congo

The Belgian Congo was the formal title of present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo between King Leopold II's formal relinquishment of his personal control over the state to Belgium on 15 November 1908, and Congolese independence on 30 June 1960.-Congo Free State, 1884–1908:Until the latter...

, a member of the Tetela ethnic group.