Passion or Profession: Dictator

Period: 1930–1997

In the midst of the instability that followed Congo’s independence, Mobutu came to power in 1965. By 1970, he had established a one-party dictatorship. He soon began an “Africanization” campaign to ban European influences and renamed the country the Republic of Zaire. His personal wealth grew as corruption plagued the impoverished nation. In the mid-1990s, ethnic conflict in Rwanda spread to Congo, creating conditions that allowed rebel leader Laurent Kabila to take power in 1997. Mobutu died in exile later that year.