Charles Richard Mondjo (born 28 January 1954) is a

Congolese Congolese or Kongolese may refer to: African peoples * Congolese people (disambiguation) * Kongo people, a Bantu ethnic group who live along the Atlantic coast of Africa from Pointe-Noire (Republic of Congo) to Luanda, Angola, primarily defined by ...

military officer who has served in the government of Congo-Brazzaville as Minister of Defense since 2012. Previously, he was Chief of Staff of the Congolese Armed Forces from 2002 to 2012.Bruno Okokana
"Gouvernement : deux chefs militaires de haut rang nommés ministres"
''Les Dépêches de Brazzaville'', 26 September 2012 .

Military career

An ethnic

Mbochi The Mbochi (or M'Boshi) are a Bantu ethnic group in Central Africa. Their language originates from the regions of the African Great Lakes where they began, after a long migration from the east to the centre, over the years, until 1850. This centr ...

John F. Clark and Samuel Decalo, ''Historical Dictionary of Republic of the Congo'', fourth edition (2012), Scarecrow Press, pages 289–290. and the son of diplomat Nicolas Mondjo, Charles Richard Mondjo was born in

Brazzaville Brazzaville () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Republic of the Congo. Administratively, it is a Departments of the Republic of the Congo, department and a Communes of the Republic of the Congo, commune. Constituting t ...

on 28 January 1954, attending school in

Cuvette Department Cuvette is a department of the Republic of the Congo in the central part of the country. It borders the departments of Cuvette-Ouest, Likouala, Plateaux, and Sangha, and internationally, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The capital is Owa ...

and Brazzaville. Subsequently, he attended military preparatory school. He received training at a military school in

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

from 1976 to 1978 and at a military school in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

from 1982 to 1986."Biographie du nouveau chef d’Etat-major général des Forces armées congolaises"
''Les Dépêches de Brazzaville'', 21 January 2003 . Back in Congo-Brazzaville, Mondjo served as an army officer, and he was Director of Lessons and Studies at the Marien Ngouabi Military Academy in Brazzaville from 1987 to 1993. He sided with rebel leader

Denis Sassou Nguesso Denis Sassou Nguesso (born 23 November 1943) is a Congolese politician and former military officer who has served as president of the Republic of the Congo since 1997. He also previously served as president from 1979 to 1992. Sassou Nguesso he ...

during the June–October 1997 civil war; the war ended with Sassou Nguesso regaining power and ousting President

Pascal Lissouba Pascal Lissouba (15 November 1931 – 24 August 2020) was a Congolese politician who was the first democratically elected President of the Republic of the Congo and served from 31 August 1992 until 25 October 1997. He was overthrown by his pred ...

. In December 1997, Mondjo was appointed as Commander of Military Zone 1, which included the country's economic capital,

Pointe-Noire Pointe-Noire (; , with the letter d following French spelling standards) is the second largest city in the Republic of the Congo, following the capital of Brazzaville, and an autonomous department and a commune since the 2002 Constitution. B ...

; he remained in that post for five years. He was appointed as Chief of Staff of the Congolese Armed Forces on 20 December 2002, and he was promoted to the rank of major-general (''général de division''). After serving nearly ten years as Chief of Staff, Mondjo was appointed to the government as Minister at the Presidency for National Defense on 25 September 2012. He was officially succeeded as Chief of Staff by Major-General Guy Blanchard Okoï at a ceremony on 7 November 2012. Mondjo met with French Defense Minister

Jean-Yves Le Drian Jean-Yves Le Drian (; born 30 June 1947) is a French politician who served as Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs in the governments of Prime Ministers Édouard Philippe and Jean Castex (2017–2022) and as Minister of Defence under Preside ...

in Brazzaville on 11 February 2014 for a discussion about instability in the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to Central African Republic–Chad border, the north, Sudan to Central African Republic–Sudan border, the northeast, South Sudan to Central ...

. After Sassou Nguesso's victory in the March 2016 presidential election, he retained Mondjo in his post as Minister of National Defense on 30 April 2016."Équipe gouvernementale de la Nouvelle République"
, ADIAC, 1 May 2016 .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mondjo, Charles Richard 1954 births Living people People from Brazzaville Defense ministers of the Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo military personnel