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Grégoire Kayibanda (1 May 192415 December 1976) was a Rwandan politician and revolutionary who was the first elected
President of Rwanda This article lists the presidents of Rwanda since the creation of the office in 1961 (during the Rwandan Revolution), to the present day. The president of Rwanda is the head of state and head of executive of the Republic of Rwanda. The presid ...
from 1962 to 1973. An ethnic
Hutu The Hutu (), also known as the Abahutu, are a Bantu ethnic or social group which is native to the African Great Lakes region. They mainly live in Rwanda, Burundi and the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, where they form one of the prin ...
, he was a pioneer of the
Rwandan Revolution The Rwandan Revolution, also known as the Hutu Revolution, Social Revolution, or Wind of Destruction ( rw, muyaga), was a period of ethnic violence in Rwanda from 1959 to 1961 between the Hutu and the Tutsi, two of the three ethnic groups in R ...
and led Rwanda's struggle for independence from
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
, replacing the
Tutsi The Tutsi (), or Abatutsi (), are an ethnic group of the African Great Lakes region. They are a Bantu-speaking ethnic group and the second largest of three main ethnic groups in Rwanda and Burundi (the other two being the largest Bantu ethnic grou ...
monarchy with a republican form of government. Rwanda became independent from Belgium in 1962, with Kayibanda serving as the country's first president, establishing a pro-Hutu policy and a ''de facto''
one-party A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
system governed by his party,
Parmehutu The Party of the Hutu Emancipation Movement (french: Parti du Mouvement de l'Emancipation Hutu, Parmehutu), also known as the Republican Democratic Movement – Parmehutu (''Mouvement démocratique républicain – Parmehutu'', MDR-Parmehutu), w ...
. He was overthrown in a coup d'état in 1973 by his defense minister,
Juvénal Habyarimana Juvénal Habyarimana (, ; 8 March 19376 April 1994) was a Rwandan politician and military officer who served as the second president of Rwanda, from 1973 until 1994. He was nicknamed ''Kinani'', a Kinyarwanda word meaning "invincible". An ethn ...
, and died three years later.


Early life and education

Kayibanda was born on 1 May 1924 in
Tare, Rwanda Tare, Rwanda is a town and sector and capital of Rulindo district of Northern Province, Rwanda. It is the birthplace of Grégoire Kayibanda Grégoire Kayibanda (1 May 192415 December 1976) was a Rwandan politician and revolutionary who was ...
. He studied his primary school at Tare then at Kabgayi. Kayibanda was admitted in
Saint Léon Minor Seminary of Kabgayi St Léon Minor Seminary of Kabgayi is a Catholic church minor seminary located in Kabgayi, Southern province of Rwanda. The school is owned by Kabgayi Diocese of Catholic Church of Rwanda. Established in 1913, the seminary is the oldest formal sc ...
in 1937. After the completion of minor seminary in 1943, he continued to Major Seminary of Nyakibanda where he studied for four years.


Background

The Hutu majority had long been resentful of power held by the Tutsi minority. They were encouraged by Hutu advocates in the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, and by Christian Belgians, who were increasingly influential in the Congo. The United Nations mandates, the Tutsi elite class, and the Belgian colonists contributed to the growing social and political unrest. Gregoire Kayibanda, an ethnic Hutu, led the Hutu "emancipation" movement. He founded the political party ''
Parmehutu The Party of the Hutu Emancipation Movement (french: Parti du Mouvement de l'Emancipation Hutu, Parmehutu), also known as the Republican Democratic Movement – Parmehutu (''Mouvement démocratique républicain – Parmehutu'', MDR-Parmehutu), w ...
'' (''Parti du Mouvement de l'Emancipation Hutu''; Hutu Emancipation Movement Party), and wrote his " Bahutu Manifesto" in 1957. In reaction, in 1959 Tutsis founded the UNAR party, made up of those who desired immediate independence for Ruanda-Urundi based on the existing Tutsi monarchy. This group also became quickly militarized. Skirmishes began between UNAR and PARMEHUTU groups. Kayibanda's successful campaign brought the majority Hutu to power for the first time in Rwanda. In 1961 the Rwandan monarchy was dissolved and a brief transitional administration was led by
Dominique Mbonyumutwa Dominique Mbonyumutwa (January 1921 – 26 July 1986) was a Rwandan politician who served as the interim first President of Rwanda for a period of nine months in 1961, during a transitional phase between the overthrow of the Rwandan monarchy in ...
. Rwanda became independent at midnight on 1 July 1962. Kayibanda spoke at ceremonies later that day to commemorate the occasion, thanking the people who had contributed to the country's independence. He also thanked the work of the Belgians, Germans, and United Nations in developing the country. He said, "Though the Belgians made some mistakes here, the net result of their effort has been most positive," and appealed to them and other countries for technical aid. He led Rwanda's first delegation to the
United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...
on 18 September. Kayibanda was elected president on 26 October. Over the next three years, Kayibanda increased his power step by step. By 1965, Parmehutu was the only legal party in the country. At elections held that year, Kayibanda appeared alone on the ballot for president. He was reelected in
1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...
, again as the only candidate. In both elections, a single list of Parmehutu candidates was returned to the legislature. The 1962 constitution of Rwanda, enacted by Kayibanda's regime, proscribed communist activities and propaganda as Belgian settlers conditioned the gain of independence to the rejection of Communism, in the era of the iron curtain. The UNAR party threatened to turn their back on the Belgians and adhere to communism. Kayibanda pursued a pro-
Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
,
anticommunist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when the United States and the ...
foreign policy. Rwanda enjoyed cordial relations with the
Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
, while strongly criticizing the
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
's policies in
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
.Nyrop, 1969, p. 91 Kayibanda's government adopted a generally neutral stance on the
Arab–Israeli conflict The Arab–Israeli conflict is an ongoing intercommunal phenomenon involving political tension, military conflicts, and other disputes between Arab countries and Israel, which escalated during the 20th century, but had mostly faded out by the ...
and the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
. In the presidential elections of 1973 a project promulgated on 18 May was presented, the duration of the presidential term of Kabiyanda was extended from 4 to 5 years, and the age limit of 60 years was eliminated. With North-South regionalist rivalries, President Kayibanda's regime was accused of having progressively dismissed the political leaders of the north and of concentrating power in the hands of the nationals of his native prefecture, Gitarama.


Death

On 5 July 1973 defense minister Major General
Juvénal Habyarimana Juvénal Habyarimana (, ; 8 March 19376 April 1994) was a Rwandan politician and military officer who served as the second president of Rwanda, from 1973 until 1994. He was nicknamed ''Kinani'', a Kinyarwanda word meaning "invincible". An ethn ...
overthrew Kayibanda in a military coup. Although described as bloodless, as a result of the coup, an estimated 55 people, mostly officials, lawyers or businessmen close to the previous regime, were reportedly executed. The families of these people were given sums of money to pay for their silence. The new government held Kayibanda and his wife in a secret location (rumored to be a house near Kabgayi), where they were reportedly "starved to death".


References


Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kayibanda, Gregoire 1924 births 1976 deaths Presidents of Rwanda Prime Ministers of Rwanda Amateur radio people Hutu people Leaders ousted by a coup People from Rulindo District Rwandan anti-communists