Marie-Antoinette Mobutu (born Marie-Antoinette Gbiatibwa Gogbe Yetene; c. 1941 in

Banzyville Mobayi-Mbongo, formerly known as ''Banzyville'' or ''Banzystad'', is a town in Nord-Ubangi Province, in the northwestern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the Ubangi River. It lies opposite the Central African Republic, Central Afr ...

), also known as Mama Mobutu was the first wife of

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 ...

and

First Lady of Zaire First Lady of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (French language, French: ''Première Dame de la République démocratique du Congo'') is the title attributed to the wife of the president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The country's ...

Biography

Marie-Antoinette was born in

(modern-day Mobayi-Mbongo) in

Équateur Province Équateur, French for equator, may refer to: Places * Province of Équateur, a province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo since 2015 * Équateur (former province), a former province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1966–2015 * Équa ...

in 1941 while the Congo was still under Belgian colonial rule. She was an ethnic Ngbandi. She met and married

Joseph-Désiré Mobutu 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 List of heads of state of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, presiden ...

, a member of the same ethnic group and then a

non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...

in the

Force Publique The ''Force Publique'' (, "Public Force"; nl, Openbare Weermacht) was a gendarmerie and military force in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1885 (when the territory was known as the Congo Free State), through the period of ...

, in 1955 at the age of 14. That same year, she gave birth to their first son, Jean-Paul "Nyiwa". She attended Catholic mission schools and had supported the

Roman 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 ...

despite her husband's later struggle with the Catholic clergy.

Children

Marie Antoinette bore the most out of all of Mobutu's wives, a total of nine children: * Jean-Paul "Nyiwa"; * Ngombo; * Manda; * Konga; * Ngawali; * Yango; * Yakpwa; * Kongulu; * and Ndagbia. She is buried in Rabat Morocco

Death

Marie-Antoinette died of

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...

on 22 October in

Genolier Genolier is a municipality in the district of Nyon in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. History Genolier is first mentioned in 1110 as ''Genolliacum''. Geography Genolier has an area, , of . Of this area, or 44.8% is used for agricultural pu ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, at the age of 36. A vast mausoleum was raised in her honor. She is buried in Gbadolite,just outside the chapel in which she was originally buried in by her husband, relatives had to relocate her remains from the chapel because it was destroyed.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mobutu, Marie-Antoinette 1940s births 1977 deaths Year of birth uncertain Deaths in Switzerland First Ladies of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Mobutu Sese Seko People from Nord-Ubangi