Antoine Ghonda Mangalibi (born February 19, 1965) was the foreign minister of the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

from June 30, 2003, until July 23, 2004. Ghonda was born in

Leuven Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic ...

, Belgium, and grew up in the Bas Congo province of the

, which was then known as Zaire. He did university studies in the United States, and earned a B.A. degree in International Relations from

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest uni ...

in 1992. From 1992 to 2000, he worked in his family's businesses, and developed a lucrative career in international trade. He took a keen interest in politics during these years, but did not align himself politically during the late years of the

Mobutu Sese Seko Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu Wa Za Banga (; born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu; 14 October 1930 – 7 September 1997) was a Congolese politician and military officer who was the president of Zaire from 1965 to 1997 (known as the Democratic Republic o ...

presidency, nor during the early part of the presidency of

Laurent-Désiré Kabila Laurent-Désiré Kabila () (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 assassinati ...

. In 2000, however, he plunged into politics, joining the Congolese Liberation Movement, a rebel group led by

Jean-Pierre Bemba Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo (born 4 November 1962) is a politician in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He was one of four Vice-Presidents of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, vice-presidents in the transitional government of the Democrat ...

. In 2003, the Congolese Liberation Movement made peace with the national government led by

Joseph Kabila Joseph Kabila Kabange ( , ; born 4 June 1971) is a Congolese politician who served as President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo between January 2001 and January 2019. He took office ten days after the assassination of his father, Presi ...

and joined a transitional government in which there were four vice-presidents, including two heading major rebel groups. Bemba became one of the vice-presidents and was given the power to appoint the foreign minister. Ghonda was given the post. In July 2004 Bemba demanded that Ghonda be sacked, and President Kabila was forced to oblige. Although there was active speculation in Kinshasa's newspapers about the reasons for Bemba's demand, there was not a consensus, and several reasons were advanced. They included Ghonda's criticism of troops from

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

and

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

operating on Congolese soil, Ghonda's friendship with Joseph Kabila, and the mentioning of Ghonda by

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

as one of the three pillars of the new Congo, with Bemba not being mentioned. After losing the confidence of Bemba, however, Ghonda became more influential with President Kabila. In the cabinet reshuffle of March 7, 2005, Ghonda was named as one of two roving ambassadors (ambassadeurs itinérants) for the Congolese President.Gauthier de Villiers, ''République démocratique du Congo: De la guerre aux élections'' (Paris: L'Harmattan, 2009), p.249 In the 2006 legislative elections, Ghonda was elected to a seat in National Assembly, representing a district in Bas-Congo province whose main town is Kisantu. The Foundation Antoine Ghonda in this town is a leading source of socio-economic development in the area.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghonda, Antoine 1965 births Living people Government ministers of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Movement for the Liberation of the Congo politicians People from Kongo Central Florida International University alumni Democratic Republic of the Congo businesspeople 21st-century Democratic Republic of the Congo people