The Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: link=no, 1=Premier ministre de la République démocratique du Congo, sw, 1=Waziri Mkuu wa Jamhuri ya Kidemokrasia ya Kongo, ln, 1=Minisele ya Yambo wa Republiki ya Kɔ́ngɔ Demokratiki) is the head of government of 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 ...

. The Constitution of the Third Republic grants the Prime Minister a significant amount of power. The post is currently occupied by

Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde Kyenge (born 4 August 1977) is a Congolese politician from the former Katanga Province who has occupied the role of Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo since 15 February 2021. He was named the day of t ...

. He is the successor to Sylvestre Ilunga, who was removed from office on 29 January 2021.

History

The position of Prime Minister was already present in the first post-independence government of the

, with the first Prime Minister being Patrice Emery Lumumba. Over the years, the position's powers and attributions have varied widely, and there were long periods of time under

Mobutu Sese Seko Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu Wa Za Banga (; born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu; 14 October 1930 – 7 September 1997) was a Congolese politician and military officer who was the president of Zaire from 1965 to 1997 (known as the Democratic Republic o ...

and in the aftermath of the

First Congo War The First Congo War, group=lower-alpha (1996–1997), also nicknamed Africa's First World War, was a civil war and international military conflict which took place mostly in Zaire (present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo), with major spillo ...

when the position ceased to exist. Mobutu abolished the position in 1966 but restored it in 1977 under the name "First State Commissioner" which, in reality, was weak in comparison to the pre-war office of Prime Minister, and was occupied by several individuals who were appointed at Mobutu's whim. The office became vacant with Mobutu's forced ouster in 1997. Aside from the

Lumumba Government The Lumumba Government (french: Gouvernement Lumumba), also known as the Lumumba Ministry or Lumumba Cabinet, was the first set of ministers, ministers of state, and secretaries of state that governed the Democratic Republic of the Congo (then Re ...

, the Congo (DRC) has known several powerful figures in the position, such as

Moise Tshombe Moise is a given name and surname, with differing spellings in its French and Romanian origins, both of which originate from the name Moses: Moïse is the French spelling of Moses, while Moise is the Romanian spelling. As a surname, Moisè and Mo ...

, who had previously led a secession of his native Katanga province, and Etienne Tshisekedi, the long-time opponent of the Mobutu regime, who was brought to this position three times under popular pressure. The position resurfaced as an institution in the constitution of the Third Republic, and

Antoine Gizenga Antoine Gizenga (5 October 1925 – 24 February 2019) was a Congolese (DRC) politician who was the Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 30 December 2006 to 10 October 2008. He was the Secretary-General of the Unified Lumum ...

was appointed as the first Prime Minister of the Third Republic on 30 December 2006. Gizenga, one of the few active and living politicians to hail from the DRC's colonial past, was Lumumba's Deputy-Prime Minister in 1960, and served as Prime Minister of a rival national government in rebellion in February 1961.

Description

Under the constitution of the Third Republic, the Prime Minister shares the leadership of the executive branch of government with the

President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo The president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: link=no, Président de la République démocratique du Congo, sw, Rais wa Jamhuri ya Kidemokrasia ya Kongo, ln, Mokonzi wa Republíki ya Kongó Demokratíki), is the head of state ...

. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President, hailing from the party or political group that has the majority in 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 repre ...

. The Prime Minister has a secondary role in the executive branch. When the Prime Minister is from the same party as the President, the head of the executive is constitutionally the President. However, when there is

cohabitation Cohabitation is an arrangement where people who are not married, usually couples, live together. They are often involved in a romantic or sexually intimate relationship on a long-term or permanent basis. Such arrangements have become increas ...

(i.e., when the President is from one party while another party controls the National Assembly) the Prime Minister's importance is enhanced, because the President possesses little power to be exercised without the consent of the Prime Minister.

Requirements

The constitution does not expressly outline any direct requirement for this position. The only requirement is the approval by the National Assembly of the government's composition and program, which then leads to the investiture of the government.

References

{{Prime Minister Lists of Democratic Republic of the Congo people Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo 1960 establishments in the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville)

History

Description

Requirements

See also

References