Mobutu Sese Seko (In power: 1965 – 1997)
If it wasn’t for a military invasion of Zaire (as it was once known) in 1997, this African leader would have continued in power until he would have died in office. Born Joseph (-Desire) Mobutu in October 1930 in what was then known as the Belgian Congo. He was the son of a hotel maid and a cook for a Belgian judge. His upbringing would have been unremarkable except that he was arrested for stowing away on a boat to the capital after running away from Catholic-mission school. Given the option of serving in the army or prison, Mobutu chose the former. It was this event that would lead to his meteoric rise in politics.
On June 30, 1960, the Belgian Congo was granted its independence. A coalition government was formed with Patrice Lumumba as the prime minister. Lumumba proceeded to appoint Mobutu as Chief of Staff of the Armée Nationale Congolaise, the Congolese National Army. Peace was illusive in the Congo as Lumumba was arrested and executed in 1961. Political turmoil ensued for a number of years until Mobutu grabbed power in 1965. He consolidated power by eliminating opposition politicians and leaders and by establishing only one legal political party in the country – one that he would head. He renamed the country “Zaire” in 1971. In 1972, he gave himself the name: Mobutu Sese Seko Nkuku Ngbendu Wa Za Banga (“The all-powerful warrior who, because of his endurance and inflexible will to win, goes from conquest to conquest, leaving fire in his wake”) – or Mobutu Sese Seko for short.
Mobutu’s reign was characterized as a “kleptocracy” where all national resources and wealth were exploited for his personal benefit. The people of Zaire saw little of this wealth as the citizen’s overall standard of living declined over the years. By 1984, it was estimated that Mobutu’s personal fortune was worth over $5 billion USD. This was equivalent to the national debt at the time. The end finally came when an army led by Laurent Kabila invaded eastern Zaire with the support of Rwanda, Uganda, and Burundi in late 1996. Mobutu’s army was no match for the invading forces and he was forced to flee. He died in Morocco from advanced stage prostate cancer in 1997.