Pascal Lissouba (15 November 1931 – 24 August 2020) was a Congolese politician who was the first democratically elected

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of the

Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...

and served from 31 August 1992 until 25 October 1997. He was overthrown by the former and current President

Denis Sassou Nguesso Denis Sassou Nguesso (born 23 November 1943) is a Congolese politician and former military officer. He became president of the Republic of the Congo in 1997. He served a previous term as president from 1979 to 1992. During his first period as ...

in the 1997 civil war.

Early life and education

Lissouba was born in Tsinguidi, south-west Congo, to Bandjabi parents. He attended primary school in

Mossendjo Mossendjo is a town located in the Niari Region of the Republic of the Congo. Railways The town lies on the Mbinda branch of the Congo railway system. Infrastructure Mossendjo is a city of approximately 10,000 people. It is the regional hub ...

and Boko. He began his secondary studies 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 gained his education at the Lycée Félix Faure in

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

(1948–52), where he obtained a

baccalaureate Baccalaureate may refer to: * ''Baccalauréat'', a French national academic qualification * Bachelor's degree, or baccalaureate, an undergraduate academic degree * English Baccalaureate, a performance measure to assess secondary schools in England ...

. He then studied

Agronomy Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants by agriculture for food, fuel, fiber, chemicals, recreation, or land conservation. Agronomy has come to include research of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and ...

at the ''École Supérieure d'Agriculture'' in

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

and secured a diploma in agricultural engineering in 1956. At the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

(1958–61) he received a doctoral degree in Biology. He was also a fellow trainee at the

National Center for Scientific Research The French National Centre for Scientific Research (french: link=no, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe. In 2016, it employed 31,637 ...

(CNRS) in Paris and at ORSTOM. In June 1961, he worked as a researcher at ORSTOM. He was appointed lecturer in vegetal biology, by a French Ministry of National Education decree on 3 November 1961.

Political career

Initially he was a civil servant, working as a managing director in the Department of Agriculture (1962–63), having returned in 1962. But his abilities advanced him to become Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Water, and Forestry on 16 August 1963 until 1966 and then Prime Minister (1963–66) under President

Alphonse Massamba-Débat Alphonse Massamba-Débat (February 11, 1921 – March 25, 1977) was a political figure of the Republic of the Congo who led the country from 1963 until 1968 in a one-party system. Biography Early life He was born in the small village of Nkolo, Bo ...

. He was appointed Minister of State for Planning, then for Agriculture (1968–1969), before being sacked by the government. Afterwards, he became a genetics professor at the

University of Brazzaville Marien Ngouabi University (French: ''Université Marien Ngouabi'', UMNG) is the only state-funded university in the Republic of Congo. It is located in the capital of Brazzaville. History The University of Brazzaville was founded on 4 December 19 ...

(1966–1971) and later director of the Ecole Supérieure des Sciences in 1970. When Massamba-Débat was overthrown in 1968 Lissouba remained in government under

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 ...

and although he was suspended from political activity from 1969 to 1971 he was on the Central Committee of the Congolese Workers Party in 1973. In 1977, he was implicated for involvement in the assassination of Ngouabi and arrested. He was sentenced to life imprisonment and hard labour in 1977. He was released in 1979 but had to live in exile 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 ...

from 1979 to 1990. In France, he was a professor of genetics at the University of Paris and then worked for

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 ...

in Paris and

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

. When President

was forced to move the Congo towards democracy in 1991, Lissouba returned in February 1992 and was elected President in the August 1992 elections. He secured 36% of the vote as head of the left-wing

Pan-African Union for Social Democracy The Pan-African Union for Social Democracy (french: Union panafricaine pour la démocratie sociale, UPADS) is a political party in the Republic of the Congo headed by Pascal Lissouba, who was President from 1992 to 1997. It has been the country' ...

(''Union panafricaine pour la démocratie sociale'', UPADS). In the run-off with second-placed Bernard Kolelas, Lissouba got 61% of the vote.

Unrest and civil war

Conflict soon broke out however. A coalition of opposition groups and their militias accused Lissouba of rigging the elections. Widespread civil war was averted when

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...

and the

Organisation of African Unity The Organisation of African Unity (OAU; french: Organisation de l'unité africaine, OUA) was an intergovernmental organization established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with 32 signatory governments. One of the main heads for OAU's ...

intervened, but sporadic fighting continued until January 1995. Fighting broke out again in June 1997 when Lissouba engaged militias loyal to former President Col.

of the

Congolese Labor 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, Marxist–Leninist vanguard party which founded the Peo ...

(PCT) in

, accusing the former president of an attempted coup. Sassou Nguesso, however, was able to escape and stage a counterattack. Thus began a 4-month

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

that destroyed or damaged much of the capital. In early October 1997,

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n troops invaded Congo on the side of Sassou. Most of Brazzaville fell to rebel and Angolan forces on 14 October 1997, and Lissouba fled; within two days the capital was under the control of forces loyal to Sassou Nguesso, and Pointe-Noire fell with little resistance. Sassou Nguesso proclaimed himself President on 25 October 1997, but militia forces loyal to Lissouba continued a guerrilla war. The vital Congo-Ocean Railway from the coastal city of Pointe-Noire was cut, and Brazzaville was heavily damaged before a cease-fire was agreed to in December 1999.

Exile and trial

Following his overthrow, Lissouba lived in exile in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. He intended to return to the Congo for the 2002 elections, but in December 2001 he was tried ''in absentia'' in Brazzaville, and sentenced to 30 years forced labor for

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

and

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...

, related to a $150 million oil deal with the American company Occidental Petroleum. Since 2004, he had been living in Paris in exile.

Personal life

He was first married to Annette Chantegreil, then to Jocelyne Rosdam, a French national and is the father of eleven children. His eldest daughter, Mireille Lissouba, was his chief of staff from 1993 to 1996, while his younger daughter, Danielle Bineka is a university professor and writer, both currently exiled in Canada. His mother, Marie Bouanga died in 1996.

Death

Lissouba died in Perpignan,

, on 24 August 2020, due to complications from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

, aged 88.Former Congolese President Pascal Lissouba passed away at 88 in France
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References