Albert Nyembo Mwana-Ngongo (born

30 May Events Pre-1600 * 70 – Siege of Jerusalem: Titus and his Roman legions breach the Second Wall of Jerusalem. Jewish defenders retreat to the First Wall. The Romans build a circumvallation, cutting down all trees within fifteen kilometres ...

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

) is a Congolese and

Katangese 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, Haut-Lomami, Lualaba, a ...

politician who was a Secretary of State and Minister for Congo and secessionist Katanga.

Early life

Nyembo went to school at the St. Boniface Institute in

Élisabethville Lubumbashi (former names: (French language, French), (Dutch language, Dutch)) is the second-largest city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, located in the country's southeasternmost part, along the border with Zambia. The capital and pr ...

, capital of Katanga, then in the

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964. Colo ...

. He obtained a degree from the school of telecommunication in Léopoldville, the colony's capital, in 1950. Before 1960, he was a civil servant and trade unionist in the Belgian Congo. In 1957, Nyembo founded the CONAKAT party together with

Godefroid Munongo Godefroid Munongo Mwenda M'Siri (1925–1992) was a Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congolese politician. He was a minister and briefly interim president, in 1961. It has been claimed he was involved in ethnic cleansing and in the assassination ...

Évariste Kimba Évariste Leon Kimba Mutombo (16 July 1926 – 2 June 1966) was a Congolese journalist and politician who served as Foreign Minister of the State of Katanga from 1960 to 1963 and Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 13 Oct ...

, and Rodolphe Yav. This occurred within a context of anti- Kasaï sentiments. Nyembo was the President of a group of Hemba people from Kongolo, ''Assobako'', which went on to adhere to CONAKAT.

Career

During the communal election organised before independence, he was elected as a municipal councilor and member of the Élisabethville council. In 1960, he was elected as a national MP for the Tanganyika constituency. He was appointed Secretary of State for National Defense as a CONAKAT party member in the Lumumba Government. He was a Secretary of State, since the portfolio of National Defense was added to the Prime Minister's. Eleven days after Congo's independence, Moïse Tshombe declared the independence of the

State of Katanga The State of Katanga; sw, Inchi Ya Katanga) also sometimes denoted as the Republic of Katanga, was a breakaway state that proclaimed its independence from Congo-Léopoldville on 11 July 1960 under Moise Tshombe, leader of the local ''Co ...

. Nyembo resigned from his position in the central government and became the Secretary of State of Public Service for the Katangese regime, his deputy chef de cabinet was Léonard Ilunga. At the start of the secession, four delegations were sent out to explain the government's point of view. The second delegation, led by Minister of Foreign Affairs

, included Nyembo,

Gabriel Kitenge Gabriel Kitenge was a Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congolese and State of Katanga, Katangese politician. Early life Gabriel Kitenge was a Songye people, Songye from Katanga province, Katanga. In 1957, Kitenge founded, together with Belgium, ...

, Cyprien Kayumba Mfumu wa Bwana, Léonard Kanyangala, and an ordinance officer, and left for Europe at the start of August. After the secession ended, he was appointed Minister of National Economy in the

Cyrille Adoula Cyrille Adoula (13 September 1921 – 24 May 1978) was a Congolese trade unionist and politician. He was the prime minister of the Republic of the Congo, from 2 August 1961 until 30 June 1964. Early life and career Cyrille Adoula was born to ...

government of the reunified Congo. In 1965, he became a national MP for Tanganyika. Nyembo was also active as a manager, as a President of the

Compagnie du chemin de fer du Congo supérieur aux Grands Lacs africains The ''Compagnie du chemin de fer du Congo supérieur aux Grands Lacs africains'' (French; , abbreviated to CFL) was a Belgian railway company established in 1902 in the Congo Free State, later the Belgian Congo , now the Democratic Republic of the ...

in 1964 and President of in 1973. During the national elections for the ''Bureau politique'' (political office) in 1970, he was elected a political commissioner for the Shaba region. He served for the ''Bureau politique'' of the sole party Popular Movement of the Revolution (MPR) from 22 November 1977 to 18 February 1981. He was a member of the Central Committee of MPR since the announcement of its composition on 2 September 1980. He was President of the Financial and Economic Commission from the beginning until March 1984. His mandate at the Central Committee was renewed on 28 January 1985.

Honours

*: Commander of the

National Order of the Leopard The National Order of the Leopard (french: Ordre national du Léopard) was the highest honorific decoration of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1966 until 2002 when it was discontinued and replaced by the Order of the National Heroes Kab ...

References

Works cited

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nyembo, Albert People of the Congo Crisis People of the State of Katanga 1929 births CONAKAT politicians Lumumba Government members Government ministers of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Members of the National Assembly (Democratic Republic of the Congo) Government ministers of the State of Katanga Living people 21st-century Democratic Republic of the Congo people

Early life

Career

Honours

Further reading

References

Works cited