Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde Kyenge (born 4 August 1977) is a Congolese politician from the former

Katanga Province Katanga was one of the four large provinces created in the Belgian Congo in 1914. It was one of the eleven provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo between 1966 and 2015, when it was split into the Tanganyika Province, Tanganyika, Hau ...

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 the

2021 Congo River disaster On 15 February 2021, a ship sank in the Congo River in Mai-Ndombe Province, Mai-Ndombe province, near Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo killing at least 60 people. Events An overloaded whaling boat sank at around 20:00 local time n ...

. He announced his

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

on 12 April 2021. He is a member of the

Future of Congo Future of Congo (ACO; french: Avenir du Congo) is a political party in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They hold 12 seats on the National Assembly. The current Prime Minister Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde is from the party. References See ...

party.

Biography

Lukonde was born on 4 August 1977, in Paris, and is an engineer by training. He is the son of Stéphane Lukonde Kyenge, an important figure in the political scene of his native Katanga who was assassinated in 2001. After being active in politics as a member of the

Avenir du Congo Future of Congo (ACO; french: Avenir du Congo) is a political party in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They hold 12 seats on the National Assembly. The current Prime Minister Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde is from the party. References Se ...

(English, ''Future of Congo'') party, and becoming one of the youngest Deputies at the National Assembly (Democratic Republic of the Congo), Lukonde was named Minister of Youth, Sports, and Leisure in December 2014, during the Joseph Kabila Presidency. He served in this position for 10 months, before resigning to support his party in their opposition to Kabila's bid for a third successive term as President. In June 2019, Lukonde became the Director-General of Gécamines: one of the largest mining companies in Africa, and the biggest in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He was appointed to this position by President Félix Tshisekedi in June 2019. Prior to this position, he was also deputy general administrator of the Congo National Railway Company, the SNCC. He was named Prime Minister by Tshisekedi in February 2021. He later named his

References

1977 births Living people Prime Ministers of the Democratic Republic of the Congo People from Paris 21st-century Democratic Republic of the Congo people 21st-century Democratic Republic of the Congo politicians {{DRCongo-politician-stub