Lugi Gizenga (21 September 1965 – 2 June 2020) was a Congolese politician and leader in the

Unified Lumumbist Party Unified Lumumbist Party (french: Parti Lumumbiste Unifié or ''PALU'') is a political party in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The party's name comes from Patrice Lumumba, the first prime minister of Congo after its independence in 1960 fr ...

. He was an advisor in charge of investments and partnerships with

Martin Kabwelulu Martin Kabwelulu Labilo is a politician in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He is a member of the Parti Lumumbiste Unifié (PALU). He was appointed Minister of Mines on 5 February 2007 in the government led by Antoine Gizenga, and retained th ...

, 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 ...

's Minister of Mines.

Biography

Gizenga completed his primary studies in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

and his secondary studies in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. He graduated from the Lycée Cheminade in

Brazzaville Brazzaville (, kg, Kintamo, Nkuna, Kintambo, Ntamo, Mavula, Tandala, Mfwa, Mfua; Teke: ''M'fa'', ''Mfaa'', ''Mfa'', ''Mfoa''Roman Adrian Cybriwsky, ''Capital Cities around the World: An Encyclopedia of Geography, History, and Culture'', ABC-CLI ...

and obtained a license in taxation at the Institut supérieur d’études sociales in

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one o ...

. Gizenga worked for the DRC Ministry of Finance, then joined the Ministry of Mines as an advisor for investments and partnerships. He became a leader in the Unified Lumumbist Party (PALU) on 24 October 2015. He had joined the party in 1990 as a young activist in Brazzaville, and subsequently climbed the ranks within the party while in the DRC. He assumed the position of permanent secretary and spokesperson after tension within the PALU, and advocated the Lumumbist block in 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 repre ...

. Gizenga was married to Marie Ntumba Gizenga, with whom he had three children. He died on 2 June 2020 in

at the age of 54.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gizenga, Lugi Democratic Republic of the Congo politicians 1965 births 2020 deaths People from Kinshasa 21st-century Democratic Republic of the Congo people Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo