Laurent-Désiré Kabila

President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Laurent-Désiré Kabila (French pronunciation: ​[lo.ʁɑ̃ de.zi.ʁe ka.bi.la]) (27 November 1939 – 18 January 2001) or simply Laurent Kabila (US: ), was a Congolese revolutionary and politician who was the third President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1997 until his assassination in 2001.

A longtime opponent of Mobutu Sese Seko, he led the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (ADFLC), a Rwandan and Ugandan-sponsored rebel group that invaded Zaire and overthrew Mobutu during the First Congo War from 1996 to 1997.

Having now become the new president of the country, whose name was changed back to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kabila found himself in a delicate position as a puppet of his foreign backers.

The following year, he ordered the departure of all foreign troops from the country to prevent a potential coup, leading to the Second Congo War in which his former Rwandan and Ugandan allies began sponsoring several rebel groups to overthrow him including the Rally for Congolese Democracy (RCD) and the Movement for the Liberation of the Congo (MLC).

During the war, he was assassinated by one of his bodyguards, and was succeeded ten days later by his 29-year-old son Joseph.