The
Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the
Congo ( , , ) , is Congo's
Head of Government.
History
The current Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
is Adolphe Muzito.
The position of prime minister was already
present in the first government after independence of the Democratic
Republic of the Congo
, with the first and very popular Prime Minister
Patrice Emery Lumumba. Over
the years the position's powers and attributions have varied
widely, and there were long periods of time under the
Mobutu Sese Seko, and the period following
the
First Congo War, when the
position was abolished in 1966. The position was restored by Mobutu
in 1977 as the title of "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 Congo (DRC) has known
several powerful figures in the position, such as
Moise Tshombe 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, by pressure from the people.
The position resurfaced as an institution of the Third Republic's
constitution, and
Antoine Gizenga
was appointed as the first Prime Minister of the Third Republic, on
December 30,
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
Head of State. The Prime Minister is appointed
by the President, from the party or political group that has the
majority in the
National
Assembly.
The Prime Minister has a secondary role in the executive branch,
when he or she is from the same party as the president, as the head
of the executive is constitutionally the President. However when
there is
cohabitation
(i.e., when the President is of one party while another party
controls the National Assembly) the Prime Minister's importance is
enhanced because the president has little power to be exercised by
himself or herself alone.
Requirements
The constitution does not expressly outline any direct requirement
for this position. The only litmus is the approval by the National
Assembly of the government's composition and program, which then
leads to the investiture of the government.
See also
Historical Leaders of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
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