Pierre Nkurunziza (18 December 19648 June 2020) was a Burundian politician who served as the ninth

president of Burundi The president of Burundi, officially the President of the Republic (French: ''Président de la République''), is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Burundi. The president is also commander-in-chief of the National Def ...

for almost 15 years from August 2005 until his death in June 2020. A member of the Hutu ethnic group, Nkurunziza taught

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorat ...

before becoming involved in politics during the

Burundian Civil War The Burundian Civil War was a civil war in Burundi lasting from 1993 to 2005. The civil war was the result of longstanding Ethnic conflict, ethnic divisions between the Hutu and the Tutsi ethnic groups. The conflict began following the first Mult ...

as part of the rebel National Council for the Defense of Democracy – Forces for the Defense of Democracy (''Conseil National Pour la Défense de la Démocratie – Forces pour la Défense de la Démocratie'', CNDD–FDD) of which he became leader in 2000. The CNDD–FDD became a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

at the end of the Civil War and Nkurunziza was elected president. He held the post controversially for three terms, facing bloody opposition, sparking significant public unrest in 2015. He announced his intention not to stand for re-election in 2020 and instead ceded power to

Évariste Ndayishimiye General Évariste Ndayishimiye (born 1968) is a Burundian politician who has served as President of Burundi since 18 June 2020. He became involved in the rebel National Council for the Defense of Democracy – Forces for the Defense of Democrac ...

, whose candidacy he had endorsed. He died on 8 June 2020 shortly before the official end of his term. He was the longest-ruling president in Burundian history.

Early life

Childhood and teaching career, 1964–1995

Pierre Nkurunziza was born on 18 December 1964 in

Bujumbura Bujumbura (; ), formerly Usumbura, is the economic capital, largest city and main port of Burundi. It ships most of the country's chief export, coffee, as well as cotton and tin ore. Bujumbura was formerly the country's normal capital. In late ...

, the capital of Burundi, shortly after the country's independence from Belgian rule in 1962. He was one of six children born into a family from Buye in Mwumba, Ngozi Province, where Nkurunziza spent his early years. His father,

Eustache Ngabisha Eustache Ngabisha (d. 1972 in Ngozi, Burundi)Hutu ethnic group and a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. Ngabisha was involved in the nationalist politics under the ruling

Union for National Progress The Union for National Progress (french: Union pour le Progrès national, UPRONA) is a nationalist political party in Burundi. It initially emerged as a nationalist united front in opposition to Belgian colonial rule but subsequently became an i ...

(''Union pour le Progrès national'', UPRONA) and was

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population ...

to the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the r ...

in 1965. Ngabisha became a provincial governor but was killed in the genocidal violence of 1972. Nkurunziza's mother, Domitille Minani, was an assistant nurse from the Tutsi ethnic group who was

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

. Nkurunziza himself was considered to be Hutu. Nkurunziza attended school in Ngozi and studied at the prestigious ''athénée'' in

Gitega Gitega (), formerly Kitega, is the political capital of Burundi. Located in the centre of the country, in the Burundian central plateau roughly east of Bujumbura (the largest city and former political capital), Gitega (the second largest city) ...

after his father's death. He enrolled at the Institute of Physical Education and Sports at the

University of Burundi The University of Burundi (french: Université du Burundi, or UB) is a public university located in Bujumbura, Burundi. Founded in 1964, it comprises eight faculties and five institutes and has a student enrollment of approximately 13,000. It is ba ...

and obtained a degree in

in 1990. At the time, he was not known to be politically active. After graduating, he taught at a school in Muramvya before becoming an assistant lecturer at the university in 1992. He was also a football coach for Muzinga FC and Union Sporting in the country's first division. Alongside his other roles, he taught at the Higher Institute for Military Cadres (''Institut supérieur des cadres militaires'', ISCAM) where he made important personal contacts with officers in the Burundian National Army who would subsequently become leading figures within the major rebel groups during the Civil War. Nkurunziza married Denise Bucumi in 1994.

Burundian Civil War and CNDD–FDD, 1995–2005

Bujumbura university campus (3079048511)

The newly elected president

Melchior Ndadaye Melchior Ndadaye (28 March 1953 – 21 October 1993) was a Burundian intellectual and politician. He was the first democratically elected and first Hutu president of Burundi after winning the landmark 1993 election. Though he moved to attempt to ...

was assassinated in an attempted coup d'état in October 1993. The killing sparked a wave of ethnic violence between Hutu and Tutsi factions and the start of the

. Nkurunziza was still teaching at the University of Burundi but was forced to flee in 1995 after hundreds of Hutu students were killed. He spent several years in hiding in the bush and was himself sentenced to death

in absentia is Latin for absence. , a legal term, is Latin for "in the absence" or "while absent". may also refer to: * Award in absentia * Declared death in absentia, or simply, death in absentia, legally declared death without a body * Election in ab ...

by a government-backed court in 1998 for planting

land mines A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...

. At the time, he became associated with the moderate rebel group National Council for the Defense of Democracy – Forces for the Defense of Democracy (''Conseil National Pour la Défense de la Démocratie – Forces pour la Défense de la Démocratie'', CNDD–FDD), largely supported by ethnic Hutus. By 1998, he had risen to the position of General Secretary of the CNDD–FDD and was in charge of coordinating the political and military wings. He fought for their militia and gained the nickname "Pita". He was nearly killed near Gitega in 2001 but interpreted his survival as a sign that he was destined to lead the group. Nkurunziza himself became a

born-again Born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelicalism, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is distinctly and sep ...

Protestant and supported the integration of Tutsis and other minority groups into the CNDD–FDD. All five of Nkurunziza's siblings were killed in the Civil War, three of whom while fighting for the CNDD–FDD. Nkurunziza became the president of the CNDD–FDD on 28 August 2000 and presided over the movement as it moved towards a political compromise with the government. A series of agreements in 2003 paved the way for the CNDD–FDD to enter national politics, and allowed Nkurunziza to be reunited with his wife and surviving family members. He became Minister for Good Government and the General Inspection of the State in the transitional government of

Domitien Ndayizeye Domitien Ndayizeye (born 2 May 1953) is a Burundian politician who was President of Burundi from 2003 to 2005. He succeeded Pierre Buyoya, as president on 30 April 2003, after serving as Buyoya's vice president for 18 months. Ndayizeye remained i ...

which was considered "a springboard post at a moment when electoral preparations were under way to complete the transition". He was re-elected president of the CNDD–FDD, now a political party, in August 2004, and became its candidate for the forthcoming

legislative A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...

and

presidential elections A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...

. The elections brought Nkurunziza and the CNDD–FDD to power with a large majority of the vote. He succeeded Ndayizeye as the President of Burundi.

Presidency

First term, 2005–2010

Nkurunziza's term as president began on 26 August 2005 and he soon adopted a number of popular policies. He presided over the reconstruction of the Burundian state on the basis of the inter-ethnic compromise enshrined in the Arusha Accords which mandated the partition of state positions between Tutsi, Hutu, and the minority Twa ethnic groups. The Party for the Liberation of the Hutu PeopleNational Forces of Liberation (''Parti pour la libération du peuple HutuForces nationales de libération'', PALIPEHUTU–FNL), the final Hutu rebel faction in the Civil War, was demobilised in 2008. Burundi became actively involved in the

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the Africa ...

and the state's outstanding

public debt A country's gross government debt (also called public debt, or sovereign debt) is the financial liabilities of the government sector. Changes in government debt over time reflect primarily borrowing due to past government deficits. A deficit oc ...

was cancelled in 2009 by the " Paris Club". However, Nkurunziza's reputation became increasingly tarnished in the face of political factionalism, corruption, and continued insecurity. Hussein Radjabu, a leading figure in the CNDD–FDD, was imprisoned for insulting Nkurunziza in 2008. However, Nkurunziza was re-elected for a second term in July 2010 with a big majority but was effectively unopposed, as the polls were boycotted by opposition parties.

Second term and unrest, 2010–2015

Nkurunziza's second term saw rising discontent with his leadership. Outdoor

jogging Jogging is a form of trotting or running at a slow or leisurely pace. The main intention is to increase physical fitness with less stress on the body than from faster running but more than walking, or to maintain a steady speed for longer periods ...

was banned in June 2014 out of fear that group exercise might be used as cover for political meetings. Dissent came to a head with the public announcement on 25 April 2015 that Nkurunziza would stand for a third term in the presidential elections scheduled for June that year. This appeared to be contrary to the

term limit A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potenti ...

s established in the Arusha Accords and sparked widespread protests in

and elsewhere which led to violent confrontations. However, the

Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ...

ruled on 5 May that the projected third term was legal. The protests then escalated and dozens were killed. A military uprising was attempted on 13 May 2015 by soldiers loyal to Godefroid Niyombare but collapsed after extensive fighting in Bujumbura. Assassinations of opposition politicians and critics took place and it was reported that detained protesters were tortured or raped at so-called "black sites" by regime loyalists from the National Intelligence Service (''Service national de renseignement'', SNR). The following months also saw the assassination of a number of CNDD–FDD officials and loyalists including Adolphe Nshimirimana. A rebel group emerged as the Republican Forces of Burundi (''Forces républicaines du Burundi'', FOREBU) and large numbers of civilians fled into exile. Despite the instability and a continuing opposition boycott, the elections took place in July and Nkurunziza was re-elected for a third term.

Third term and resignation, 2015–2020

Nkurunziza's third term saw the country's increasing isolation in light of international condemnation of the repression which accompanied the 2015 unrest. On 4 August 2015, he ordered the police to find the murderers of his ally, Lieutenant General Adolphe Nshimirimana, within ten days who was represented as the right-hand man of the president. Évariste Ndayishimiye

The

East African Community The East African Community (EAC) is an intergovernmental organisation composed of seven countries in the Great Lakes region of East Africa: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the United Republic of Tanzania, the Republics of Kenya, Buru ...

and

attempted to mediate the conflict unsuccessfully and Nkurunziza's regime became increasingly isolated. Fearing an outbreak of genocidal violence, the African Union attempted to dispatch a

peacekeeping Peacekeeping comprises activities intended to create conditions that favour lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths, as well as reduces the risk of renewed warfare. Within the United ...

force to Burundi in 2016 but this was blocked by Nkurunziza. 1,700 civilians were estimated to have been killed in the subsequent repression and 390,000 fled across the border into

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

and the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

. Poverty increased and many middle-class Burundians emigrated. Nkurunziza withdrew Burundi from the

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to pro ...

in 2017 and advocated constitutional reforms which would allow longer presidential terms which were approved in a disputed referendum in May 2018. However, in June 2018 he announced that he would not be standing for a fourth term and that he would consequently step down in 2020. The same year, he was given the title of "Permanent Visionary" (''Visionnaire permanent'') by the CNDD–FDD. In March 2019, three girls were arrested for drawing on the president's portrait. Global outrage, with denunciations from

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human ...

and an international campaign on networks under the

Hashtag A hashtag is a metadata tag that is prefaced by the hash (also known as pound or octothorpe) sign, ''#''. On social media, hashtags are used on microblogging and photo-sharing services such as Twitter or Instagram as a form of user-generated ...

#FreeOurGirls, forced the government, which agreed to release the three girls. Ahead of his resignation, Nkurunziza endorsed

as his candidate for leadership of the CNDD–FDD ahead of the elections scheduled for 2020. Ndayishimiye was considered to be a "close ally" and it had been reported that Nkurunziza "wanted to run the country from behind the scenes" after his resignation using Ndayishimiye as a

puppet ruler A puppet ruler is a person who has a title indicating possession of political power, but who, in reality, is either loyal to or controlled by outside individuals or forces. Such outside power can be exercised by a foreign government, in which case ...

. The elections took place in May 2020 and resulted in a large majority in favour of Nkurunziza's candidate but occurred against the backdrop of criticism of Nkurunziza's response to the

COVID-19 pandemic in Burundi The COVID-19 pandemic in Burundi is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The virus was confirmed to have reached Burundi on 25 March 2020. Bac ...

in which Nkurunziza expelled representatives of the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level o ...

(WHO) from Burundi.

Election monitor Election monitoring involves the observation of an election by one or more independent parties, typically from another country or from a non-governmental organization (NGO). The monitoring parties aim primarily to assess the conduct of an electi ...

s from the East African Community were also kept out. Local sources assured that the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...

had aggravated his ailment and that is why he declined a fourth term.

Death

Nkurunziza died on 8 June 2020, aged 55, at the Fiftieth Anniversary Hospital in

Karuzi Karuzi is a city located in eastern Burundi. It is the capital city of Karuzi Province. On 8 June 2020, Burundian president Pierre Nkurunziza died in Karuzi from cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stop ...

. The Burundian government gave his cause of death as a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

, but it was widely suspected that he died of

. A week earlier, Kenyan newspaper '' The Standard'' reported his wife had flown without him to

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

for COVID-19 treatment. Nkurunziza's death occurred after the 2020 elections, but ahead of the projected hand-over of power in August. It had been announced in May 2020 that he would continue to remain prominent in public life in the post of "Supreme Guide of Patriotism" (''Guide suprême du patriotisme'') with a retirement award of $540,000 (

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

) and a villa provided by the government of Burundi. Seven national days of mourning were announced in Burundi following his death. Other states in the East African Community also observed official periods of mourning. One day of mourning was also observed in

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...

References

External links

*
Video and Summary of Nkurunziza Speech on First Visit to Washington
at the

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (or Wilson Center) is a quasi-government entity and think tank which conducts research to inform public policy. Located in the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Wash ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nkurunziza, Pierre 1964 births 2020 deaths Burundian Protestants Hutu people National Council for the Defense of Democracy – Forces for the Defense of Democracy politicians People from Bujumbura People of the Burundian Civil War Presidents of Burundi University of Burundi alumni University of Burundi faculty Burundian educators Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Burundi