List of heads of state of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

This is the list of the heads of state of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) since independence in 1960. The current head of state is president Joseph Kabila, since 17 January 2001.

Heads of state of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (1960–present)

(Dates in italics indicate de facto continuation of office)

Republic of the Congo (1960–1964)
№		Name		Birth–Death	Took office	Left office	Political Party
Presidents
	1	Joseph Kasa-Vubu		1910–1969	1 July 1960	1 August 1964	ABAKO
	—	Antoine Gizenga (disputed)		1925–	31 March 1961	5 August 1961	Congolese National Movement (Lumumba)
Democratic Republic of the Congo (1964–1971)
Presidents
	(1)	Joseph Kasa-Vubu		1910–1969	1 August 1964	24 November 1965	ABAKO
	2	Joseph-Désiré Mobutu		1930–1997	24 November 1965	27 October 1971	Military / Popular Movement of the Revolution
Republic of Zaire (1971–1997)
President
	(2)	Mobutu Sese Seko		1930–1997	27 October 1971	16 May 1997	Popular Movement of the Revolution
Democratic Republic of the Congo (1997–present)
Presidents
	3	Laurent-Désiré Kabila		1939–2001	17 May 1997	16 January 2001	Independent
	4	Joseph Kabila	100px	1971–	26 January 2001 Acting since 17 January 2001	Incumbent	Independent / People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy

Rank by time in office

Rank	President	Time in office
1	Mobutu Sese Seko
2	Joseph Kabila (Incumbent)
3	Joseph Kasa-Vubu
4	Laurent-Désiré Kabila

See also

• Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • Politics of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • List of colonial governors of the Congo Free State and Belgian Congo
  • President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
    • List of heads of government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Zaire
• Lists of Incumbents

External links

• Official website of the President of the DRC
• World Statesmen – Congo (Kinshasa)