Joseph Iléo (15 September 1921 – 19 September 1994), subsequently Zairianised as Sombo Amba Iléo, was a Congolese politician and was prime minister for two periods.

Early life

Joseph Iléo was born on 15 September 1921. In 1956, he was one of the authors of ''Manifeste de la Conscience Africaine'', which demanded the right of Africans to self-rule. In 1958, he was one of the founders of the ''

Mouvement National Congolais The Congolese National Movement (, or MNC) is a political party in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. History Foundation The MNC was founded in 1958 as an African nationalism, African nationalist party within the Belgian Congo. The party wa ...

'' (MNC). Whereas

Patrice Lumumba Patrice Émery Lumumba ( ; born Isaïe Tasumbu Tawosa; 2 July 192517 January 1961) was a Congolese politician and independence leader who served as the first prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (then known as the Republic o ...

represented the more

revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates for, a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective to describe something producing a major and sudden impact on society. Definition The term—bot ...

wing of the MNC, calling for both political and socio-economic independence, Iléo was closer to Congolese

comprador A comprador or compradore () is a "person who acts as an agent for foreign organizations engaged in investment, trade, or economic or political exploitation." An example of a comprador would be a native manager for a European business house in Eas ...

elites who sought to eliminate discriminatory obstacles within an otherwise "

neocolonial Neocolonialism is the control by a state (usually, a former colonial power) over another nominally independent state (usually, a former colony) through indirect means. The term ''neocolonialism'' was first used after World War II to refer to t ...

" status quo. When the movement split a year later, he joined the camp led by

Albert Kalonji Albert Kalonji (6 June 1929 – 20 April 2015) was a Congolese politician and businessman from the Luba ya Kasai nobility. He was elected emperor ( Mulopwe) of the Baluba ya Kasai (Bambo) and later became king of the Federated State of South ...

Career

Iléo was voted into the Senate and then voted its president in June 1960. Upon the dismissal of then-prime minister Lumumba, Iléo was declared prime minister by Congolese president,

Joseph Kasa-Vubu Joseph Kasa-Vubu, alternatively Joseph Kasavubu, ( – 24 March 1969) was a Congolese politician who served as the first President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (the Republic of the Congo until 1964) from 1960 until 1965. A member of ...

, on 5 September 1960. He held the post until 20 September 1960. Under Kasa-Vubu's successor,

Justin Marie Bomboko Justin-Marie Bomboko Lokumba Is Elenge (22 September 1928 – 10 April 2014), was a Congolese politician and statesman. He was the Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Congo. He served as leader of the Congolese government as chairman of the Co ...

, Ileo served as Minister of Information. He was again declared prime minister on 9 February 1961. He remained in this post until 2 August 1961. From March to December 1979 Iléo served as President of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

Later life

In April 1990, he founded the ''

Parti Démocrate Social Chrétien The Democratic Social Christian Party () is a political party in Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is headed by former Mobutu-era prime minister André Bo-Boliko Lokonga, and was co-founded by Lokonga and Joseph Ileo in 1990. In the 2006 ...

'', serving as chairman of the party until his death. He died on 19 September 1994, aged 73.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ileo, Joseph 1921 births 1994 deaths People from Kinshasa Presidents of the Senate (Democratic Republic of the Congo) Presidents of the National Assembly (Democratic Republic of the Congo) Prime ministers of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Mouvement National Congolais politicians Democratic Social Christian Party politicians People of the Congo Crisis Évolués