Patrice Émery Lumumba, born Isaïe Tasumbu Tawosa, was a Congolese politician and independence leader who served as the first prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from June until September 1960, following the May 1960 election. He was the leader of the Congolese National Movement (MNC) from 1958 until his execution in January 1961. Ideologically an African nationalist and pan-Africanist, he played a significant role in the transformation of the Congo from a colony of Belgium into an independent republic.
Lumumba in 1960
Photograph of Lumumba, c. 1950s
Lumumba in 1958
Lumumba pictured in Brussels at the Round Table Conference with other members of the MNC-L delegation, 26 January 1960
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a country in Central Africa. By land area, the DRC is the second-largest country in Africa and the 11th-largest in the world. With a population of around 105 million, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the most populous Francophone country in the world, and the fourth-largest in Africa. The national capital and largest city is Kinshasa, which is also the economic center. The country is bordered by the Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, Angola, the Cabinda exclave of Angola, and the South Atlantic Ocean.
Arab slave raid on Nyangwe, circa 1870
View of Leopoldville Station and Port in 1884
Congo Free State official Camille Coquilhat with the Bangala chief Mata-Buiké in c. 1888
1908 photograph of a married Christian couple.