Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Encyclopedia
The Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo , is Congo's Head of Government
Head of government
Head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet. In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled prime minister, chief minister, premier, etc...

.

History

The current Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is Adolphe Muzito
Adolphe Muzito
Adolphe Muzito is a Congolese politician who has been the Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo since 2008. Muzito, a member of the Unified Lumumbist Party , was previously Minister of the Budget under Prime Minister Antoine Gizenga from 2007 to 2008.Muzito, who is from Gungu,...

. The position of prime minister was already present in the first government after independence of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...

, with the first and very popular Prime Minister Patrice Emery Lumumba
Patrice Lumumba
Patrice Émery Lumumba was a Congolese independence leader and the first legally elected Prime Minister of the Republic of the Congo after he helped win its independence from Belgium in June 1960. Only ten weeks later, Lumumba's government was deposed in a coup during the Congo Crisis...

. Over the years the position's powers and attributions have varied widely, and there were long periods of time under the Mobutu Sese Seko
Mobutu Sese Seko
Mobutu Sese Seko Nkuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga , commonly known as Mobutu or Mobutu Sese Seko , born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, was the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1965 to 1997...

, and the period following the First Congo War
First Congo War
The First Congo War was a revolution in Zaire that replaced President Mobutu Sésé Seko, a decades-long dictator, with rebel leader Laurent-Désiré Kabila. Destabilization in eastern Zaire that resulted from the Rwandan genocide was the final factor that caused numerous internal and external actors...

, when the position was abolished in 1966. The position was restored by Mobutu in 1977 as the title of "First State Commissioner" which, in reality, was weak in comparison to the pre-war office of Prime Minister, and was occupied by several individuals who were appointed at Mobutu's whim. The office became vacant with Mobutu's forced ouster in 1997.

Aside from the Lumumba government, the Congo (DRC) has known several powerful figures in the position, such as Moise Tshombe
Moise Tshombe
Moïse Kapenda Tshombe was a Congolese politician.- Biography :He was the son of a successful Congolese businessman and was born in Musumba, Congo. He received his education from an American missionary school and later trained as an accountant...

 who had previously led a secession of his native Katanga province, and Etienne Tshisekedi
Étienne Tshisekedi
Étienne Tshisekedi wa Mulumba is a lawyer, politician, and leader of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress which is a political party in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He was Prime Minister of the country on three brief occasions: in 1991, 1992–1993, and 1997...

, the long-time opponent of the Mobutu regime, who was brought to this position three times, by pressure from the people.

The position resurfaced as an institution of the Third Republic's constitution, and Antoine Gizenga
Antoine Gizenga
Antoine Gizenga is a Congolese politician who was Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from December 30, 2006 to 10 October 2008...

 was appointed as the first Prime Minister of the Third Republic, on December 30, 2006. Gizenga, one of the few active and living politicians to hail from the DRC's colonial past, was Lumumba's Deputy-Prime Minister in 1960, and served as Prime Minister of a rival national government in rebellion in February 1961.

Description

Under the constitution of the third republic
Constitution of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Constitution of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the basic law governing the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Constitution has been changed and/or replaced several times since its independence in 1960.- Current Constitution :...

, the Prime Minister shares the leadership of the executive branch of government, with the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo , is Congo's elected Head of State, and the ex officio "Supreme Commander" of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ....

, the Head of State
Head of State
A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...

. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President, from the party or political group that has the majority in the National Assembly
National Assembly of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Composition of the National Assembly...

.

The Prime Minister has a secondary role in the executive branch, when he or she is from the same party as the president, as the head of the executive is constitutionally the President. However when there is cohabitation
Cohabitation (government)
Cohabitation in government occurs in semi-presidential systems, such as France's system, when the President is from a different political party than the majority of the members of parliament. It occurs because such a system forces the president to name a premier that will be acceptable to the...

 (i.e., when the President is of one party while another party controls the National Assembly) the Prime Minister's importance is enhanced because the president has little power to be exercised by himself or herself alone.

Requirements

The constitution does not expressly outline any direct requirement for this position. The only litmus is the approval by the National Assembly of the government's composition and program, which then leads to the investiture of the government.

See also

  • Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
    Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
    The Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the second institution in the central executive branch of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the first institution being the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who has the title of head of state.- Description :Under the...

    • List of heads of government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
    • President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
      President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
      The President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo , is Congo's elected Head of State, and the ex officio "Supreme Commander" of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ....

    • List of heads of state of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • Colonial Heads of Congo
    Colonial heads of Congo
    -List of Colonial Heads of Congo:For continuation after independence, see: List of heads of state of the Democratic Republic of the Congo-Sources:*http://www.rulers.org/rulc3.html#congo_kinshasa*African States and Rulers, John Stewart, McFarland...

    • Rulers of Katanga
    • Rulers of Kuba
    • Rulers of Luba
      Rulers of Luba
      -List of Rulers of Luba:Territory located in present-day muLopwe = Kings/emperors-See also:*Congo**Congo, Democratic Republic of the***Presidents of the Democratic Republic of the Congo...

    • Rulers of Ruund (Luunda)
    • Rulers of Kasongo Luunda (Yaka)
    • Rulers of Kongo
  • Zaire
    Zaire
    The Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971 and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".-Self-proclaimed Father of the Nation:In...

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