Kasavubu, Joseph, << kah sah VOO boo, JOH zuhf >> (1917?-1969), was president of Congo, now the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), from 1960 to 1965. He was the first president after Congo won independence from Belgium.
In Congo’s first general elections, no party received an overall majority, and two opposing leaders agreed to share power. Kasavubu became president, and Patrice Lumumba became prime minister.
The country plunged into civil unrest shortly after independence in June 1960. Katanga Province seceded (withdrew) from the government. Other provinces threatened to secede, and the government weakened. In July, the government invited United Nations (UN) troops to the country to restore order. Colonel Joseph Mobutu (later Mobutu Sese Seko) led a military coup (revolt against the government) and forced Lumumba out of office in September. Lumumba was later arrested and assassinated. UN troops remained in Congo until 1964. Mobutu deposed Kasavubu in November 1965.
Kasavubu was born in or near Tshela, Congo. After attending a Roman Catholic seminary, he became a schoolteacher. In 1955, he became president of Abako, the ethnic organization of the Bakongo people. Under Kasavubu’s leadership, the organization demanded immediate independence for Congo. Kasavubu was mayor of a district of Leopoldville (now Kinshasa) from 1958 to 1959 and continued to call for Congolese independence. He died on March 24, 1969.
