Henri Lopes (born 12 September 1937)''International Who's Who of Authors and Writers 2004'', Europa Publications, p. 339.
presse-francophone.org . is a Congolese writer, diplomat, and political figure. He was Prime Minister of Congo-Brazzaville from 1973 to 1975, and became the Congo-Brazzaville's Ambassador to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

in 1998.

Political and diplomatic career

Lopes was born across the

Congo River The Congo River ( kg, Nzâdi Kôngo, french: Fleuve Congo, pt, Rio Congo), formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the second largest river in the world by discharge ...

in Leopoldville (now Kinshasa), the capital of 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 ...

(now 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 ...

). He received his primary education in Brazzaville and

Bangui Bangui () (or Bangî in Sango, formerly written Bangi in English) is the capital and largest city of the Central African Republic. It was established as a French outpost in 1889 and named after its location on the northern bank of the Ubangi ...

, then went to France in 1949 for his secondary and higher education. While there, he was a member of the Executive Committee of the Federation of Black African Students and was President of the Association of Congolese Students from 1957 to 1965. Returning to Congo in 1965, he was a history professor at the ''Ecole normale supérieure d'Afrique Centrale'' in Brazzaville from 1965 to 1966, then Director-General of Education from 1966 to 1968. Under President

Marien Ngouabi Marien Ngouabi (or N'Gouabi) (December 31, 1938 – March 18, 1977) was the third President of the Republic of the Congo from January 1, 1969, to March 18, 1977. Biography Origins Marien Ngouabi was born in 1938 at the village of Ombellé, Cu ...

, Lopes was Minister of National Education from January 1969 until becoming

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...

in December 1971. He was included on the five-member Political Bureau of the

Congolese Labour Party The Congolese Party of Labour (french: Parti congolais du travail, PCT) is the ruling party of the Republic of the Congo. Founded in 1969 by Marien Ngouabi, it was originally a pro-Soviet, Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist vanguard party w ...

(PCT) in December 1972. Subsequently, he was Prime Minister from 1973 to 1975.''Congo Brazzaville: Les hommes de pouvoir'', number 1, Africa Intelligence, 29 October 2002 . He visited China in early 1975, but could not meet with Chairman

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...

because Mao was ill. Lopes and his government resigned following a meeting of the PCT Central Committee in December 1975, and Louis Sylvain Goma was appointed to replace him. After working as political director of ''Etumba'' from 1975 to 1977, Lopes was reappointed to the government as

minister of finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

on 5 April 1977; he served in that position until

Justin Lekoundzou Justin Lekoundzou Itihi Ossetoumba (1941 – 25 November 2021) was a Congolese politician. He was a founding member of the Congolese Labour Party (PCT), and during the PCT's single-party rule he held important party and government positions in th ...

was appointed to replace him in December 1980. Subsequently, he worked at

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

as Assistant Director-General for Culture and Deputy Director-General for Africa from 1981 to 1998. On 26 October 1998, Lopes presented his credentials as Congo-Brazzaville's Ambassador to France; while posted in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, he was additionally accredited as Ambassador to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, and the

Vatican City Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—' * german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ') * pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—' * pt, Cidade do Vati ...

. In 2002, Lopes was a candidate for the post of Secretary-General of the international organization

La Francophonie LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...

, but he withdrew his candidacy under pressure on the night before the vote, which was held on 20 October 2002 and resulted in the unanimous election of

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...

's Abdou Diouf. In mid-2015, it was reported that Lopes planned to retire from his post as Ambassador to France, which he did later that year.

As a writer

In addition to his distinguished political and diplomatic career, Lopes has earned distinction as a literary author. Perhaps his most acclaimed work is the satirical novel ''Le Pleurer-rire'' (" The Laughing Cry", 1982). Other works include the short-story collection ''Tribaliques'' ("Tribaliks," 1971), as well as the novels ''La Nouvelle romance'' (1975) and ''Sans tam-tam'' (1977). His most recent novel, ''Le Méridional'' (2015), has been praised as "a fine portrayal of the life of an African long residing in France, narrated by a writer whose life bears some resemblances to Lopes's own". ''Tribaliques'' received the ''Grand Prix Littéraire de l'afrique noire'' in 1972, and in 1993 Lopes received the Grand prix de la francophonie of the Académie française for his entire body of work. In November 2015, he delivered the keynote address at the 22nd International African Writers' Day Conference, organized by the

Pan African Writers' Association The Pan African Writers' Association (PAWA), founded in November 1989, is a Ghana-based cultural institution "born in the larger crucible of Pan Africanism" that is an umbrella body of writers' associations on the African continent and the Diaspo ...

(PAWA) on the theme "Celebrating the life and works of Chinua Achebe; the coming of age of African Literature?", in

Accra, Ghana Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...

. During the conference Lopes received the award of Honorary Membership of PAWA, alongside other honorees who included the late Kwame Nkrumah, Emeritus Professor Ekwueme Michael Thelwell, Dr Margaret Busby,

James Currey James Currey is a former academic publisher specialising in African Studies which since 2008 has been an imprint of Boydell & Brewer. It is named after its founder who established the company in 1984. It publishes on a full spectrum of topic ...

, Professor Jophus Anamuah-Mensah, Dr Joyce Rosalind Aryee and others.

Selected bibliography

* ''Le Méridional'' (Editions Gallimard, 2015, ) * ''Une enfant de Poto-Poto'' (Editions Gallimard, 2012, ) * ''Ma grand-mère bantoue et mes ancêtres les Gaulois. Simples discours'' (Paris: Editions Gallimard, ) * ''Le Lys et le Flamboyant'' (Paris: Seuil, 1997, ) * ''Le chercheur d’Afriques'' (Paris: Seuil, 1990, ) * ''Le Pleurer-rire'' (Présence Africaine, 1982, ). Translated into English by G. Moore as ''The Laughing Cry: An African Cock and Bull Story'', Readers International, 1987, * ''Sans tam-tam'' (Éditions CLE, 1977, ) * ''La Nouvelle romance'' (Yaoundé: CLE, 1975) * ''Tribaliques'' (Yaoundé: CLE, 1971). Translated into English as ''Tribaliks: Contemporary Congolese Stories'' (Heinemann

African Writers Series The African Writers Series (AWS) is a collection of books written by African novelists, poets and politicians. Published by Heinemann, 359 books appeared in the series between 1962 and 2003. The series has provided an international audience fo ...

, 1987, )

Selected awards

* 1972: Grand Prix Littéraire de l'afrique noire for ''Tribaliques'' * 1992: Grand prix de la francophonie * 2002: Honorary doctorates from University of Paris XII and the

University of Quebec A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

* 2013: Honorary doctorate from University of Sonfoniah, Guinea * 2015: Officer of the

Légion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

"Décret du 3 avril 2015 portant promotion et nomination"
Légifrance .

References

External links