Ricardo Lumengo is a Swiss politician, former member of the Social Democratic Party

Social Democratic Party of Switzerland

The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....

 of the canton of Berne

Canton of Berne

The Canton of Bern is the second largest of the 26 Swiss cantons by both surface area and population. Located in west-central Switzerland, it borders the Canton of Jura and the Canton of Solothurn to the north. To the west lie the Canton of Neuchâtel, the Canton of Fribourg and Vaud. To the south...

.

Lumengo was born 1962 in Lussenga

Lussenga

Lussenga may be:*places in Angola:**Lussenga, Zaire **Lussenga, Uíge,...

, Angola

Angola

Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...

. He was a student activist in Angola from 1979. Persecuted by the dos Santos

José Eduardo dos Santos

José Eduardo dos Santos is an Angolan politician who has been the second and current President of Angola since 1979. As President, José Eduardo dos Santos is also the commander in chief of the Angolan Armed Forces and president of the MPLA , the party that has been ruling Angola since...

 government, he was forced to emigrate in 1982, entering Switzerland as an asylum seeker. He was recognized as a refugee

Refugee

A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...

 and granted permanent residence. He studied law at the University of Fribourg

University of Fribourg

The University of Fribourg is a university in the city of Fribourg, Switzerland.The roots of the University can be traced back to 1582, when the notable Jesuit Peter Canisius founded the Collège Saint-Michel in the City of Fribourg. In 1763, an Academy of law was founded by the state of Frobourg...

.

Lumengo was naturalized as a Swiss citizen in 1997 in Fribourg

Fribourg

Fribourg is the capital of the Swiss canton of Fribourg and the district of Sarine. It is located on both sides of the river Saane/Sarine, on the Swiss plateau, and is an important economic, administrative and educational center on the cultural border between German and French Switzerland...

, and was elected to the Biel municipal council in 2004, and in 2006 to the cantonal council of Berne.

In the 2007 federal election

Swiss federal election, 2007

Elections to the Swiss Federal Assembly, the federal parliament of Switzerland, were held on Sunday, 21 October 2007. In a few cantons, a second round of the elections to the Council of States was held on 11 November, 18 November, and 25 November 2007...

, he was elected to the Swiss National Council, as the country's first national councillor of African origin

Afro-European

Black people in Europe are black people who are residents or citizens of European countries...

  (although there had been a councillor of mixed Swiss-African ancestry before: Tilo Frey

Tilo Frey

Tilo Frey was a Swiss politician.Frey was the daughter of a Swiss father, Paul Frey of Brugg, and a Fula mother, Fatimatou Bibabadama....

, served 1971–1975), and the first former asylum seeker to be elected into the council.

On 19 February 2010, Lumengo was investigated for voting irregularities. While admitting to helping voters fill in their ballot papers in 2006, he rejected all accusations of trying to falsify the results.

Lumengo was convicted of election fraud on 11 November 2010 and mulcted ten day rates of CHF 180. His party immediately asked him to resign. Instead, he appealed the verdict and left the Social Democratic Party, announcing he would retain his seat in the National Council as an independent politician. On 18 may 2011 he was cleared of electoral fraud.

He joined the Social Liberal Movement

Social Liberal Movement

The Social Liberal Movement is a social conservative party in Switzerland. Founded in 2011, the SLB has one member of the National Council.The party was founded by Samuel Schmid on 23 April 2011...

, for whom he ran for re-election to the National Council in the 2011 federal election

Swiss federal election, 2011

Federal elections were held in Switzerland on 23 October 2011.All of the Federal Assembly were to be elected: all 200 seats in the National Council and all 46 seats in the Council of States....

. The party won 0.3% of the vote in Bern, and Lumengo failed to be re-elected.

External links

• Personal website
• SF1, Julie Hunt: Swiss election 2007: Swiss voted in its first African parliament member. swissinfo
  Swissinfo
  swissinfo is a nine-language news and information platform produced by SRG SSR, the Swiss public broadcasting corporation. Its content is Swiss-centred, with top priority given to in-depth information on politics, the economy, the arts, science, education and tourism. Switzerland's international...
  
  , October 24, 2007.