His tenure was seen as too pro-France, economically incompetent and autocratic leading to his forced resignation in 1963 following days of rioting. His demise saw his followers in parliament swept from power and arrested by the military, who promptly installed a civilian provisional government headed by the Chairman of the National Council of the Revolution, Alphonse Massamba-Debat (left), with the National Council itself being declared the only legal political party. However, Debat was forced to resign in 1968 following a further military coup led by Captain Marien Ngouabi who was then to assume the presidency changing the country's name to the People's Republic of the Congo, to be governed as a Marxist-Leninist state.
On 18th March 1977 Ngouabi was assassinated and replaced by former army general, Jacques Joachim Yhombi Opango, until a further military coup in February 1979 saw the rise to power of Denis Sassou Nguesso (right) who continued to align the Republic of Congo firmly with the then USSR, the People's Republic of China and other communist states. The Republic of Congo was then ruled as a Marxist state for a few years before that ideology was abandoned in 1990 after the fall of the USSR and economic meltdown. Sassou lost the Republic of the Congo's first democratic presidential election in 1992 to Pascal Lissouba and remained as opposition leader. By 1997 civil war had broken out with pro-Sassou forces, supported by troops from Angola, capturing Brazzaville, forcing Lissouba to flee after allegations that the ousted president had fixed the 1997 election. The war ended in Sassou's favour, when he retook control of the country and was sworn in as president on 25th October 1997. he has continued in power since securing 88.57% in the most recent election in 2021 with his nearest challenger, Guy-Brice Parfait Kolelas, finishing second with 7.84%.
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Congo History |
Congo History |
Congo History | Congo History |
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In 1886 it was named the Colony of Gabon and Congo then, five years later, renamed the Colony of French Congo and the area was later to become known as Middle Congo as part of French Equatorial Africa in 1910 along with Gabon, Chad, French Cameroon and parts of what is now known as the Central African Republic. As throughout Africa, the Second World War was to prove a catalyst for change with the Middle Congo granted overseas territory status, an assembly and representation in the French parliament in 1946. In 1958 a vote was held across French Equatorial Africa with Middle Congo voting for autonomy within the French Community however there were ongoing revolts against the French with France agreeing to its full independence in 1960 with it becoming the Republic of Congo with Fulbert Youlou, a former priest, mayor of Brazzaville and prime minister as leader of the Union Democratique pour la Defense d'Interets Africains party, as its first president.
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