The People's Republic of the Congo () was a Marxist–Leninist

socialist state A socialist state, socialist republic, or socialist country is a sovereign state constitutionally dedicated to the establishment of socialism. This article is about states that refer to themselves as socialist states, and not specifically ...

that existed in the

Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...

from 1969 to 1992. The People's Republic of the Congo was founded in December 1969 as the first Marxist-Leninist state in Africa, three months after the government of

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, ...

was overthrown in the September 1968 coup d'état. The ruling Congolese Party of Labour (, ''PCT'') appointed Marien Ngouabi as president, who established the Congo as a one-party communist government aligned with the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. Ngouabi was assassinated in 1977 and succeeded by Joachim Yhombi-Opango until he was overthrown in 1979. Denis Sassou Nguesso succeeded Yhombi-Opango, confirmed the PCT's rule in the Congo with a new

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

, formed closer relations with

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, and allowed greater foreign investment in the country. The People's Republic of the Congo transitioned into a multi-party system following the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

in 1991, restoring the country's earlier name and flag, and ceased to exist by March 1992. André Milongo was appointed as transitional prime minister while Sassou remained as president.

Demographics

The People's Republic of the Congo had 2,153,685 inhabitants in 1988. There were 15 ethnic groups, although most people were Kongo, Sangha, Mbochi, or Teke. 8,500 Europeans were present as well, mostly of French extraction. French was the official language, but other recognized languages included Kituba and

Lingala Lingala (or Ngala, Lingala: ) is a Bantu languages, Bantu language spoken in the northwest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the northern half of the Republic of the Congo, in their capitals, Kinshasa and Brazzaville, and to a lesser de ...

. Most of the population was centered in urban areas such as Brazzaville. Literacy was 80%, but infant mortality was also high.

History

Background

, who became the president of the Republic of the Congo in 1963, was the first African head of state who proclaimed himself openly a

Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...

. He established a single-party system in 1964 around his own political group, the National Revolution Movement ''(Mouvement National de la Révolution)''. Massamba-Débat was elected Secretary General of the National Revolution Movement while Ambroise Noumazalaye became its First Secretary. The Congolese single party was backed by a well-armed popular militia, the ''Défense Civile'', headed by Ange Diawara. However, by 1968 mounting protests led Massamba-Débat to imprison one of its leaders, Captain Marien Ngouabi.Albert M'Paka, ''Démocratie et administration au Congo-Brazzaville,'' L'Harmattan, 2005, pp. 181–182

Proclamation

Seeing that the militant leftist opposition was not giving up, Massamba-Débat ended up yielding and proclaimed an amnesty, freeing Marien Ngouabi, among other political prisoners in mid-1968. Following the amnesty Massamba-Débat relinquished his power in September giving way to a period of instability. Finally on 31 December 1968 Marien Ngouabi became the head of state. The new leader officially proclaimed a socialist-oriented state in the form of a "Popular Republic" on 31 December 1969. The administration became strongly centralized in Brazzaville and the main government posts were taken over by Congolese Workers' Party—''Parti congolais du travail (PCT)''—cadres after abolishing the national assembly of the previous republic. The Marxist–Leninist PCT held a constitutive congress in the capital from 29 to 31 December 1969, becoming the sole party of the new state. Marien Ngouabi further introduced a number of communist policies—such as nationalizing the means of production—in the succeeding years. Ngouabi was assassinated in 1977 and was succeeded by colonel Joachim Yhombi-Opango, who ruled until February 1979, when Denis Sassou-Nguesso rose to power. In the same manner as other African communist states of the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

era, the People's Republic of the Congo shared close ties with the

. This association remained strong after Ngouabi's assassination in 1977. However, the PCT government also maintained a close relationship with

throughout its existence.

Transition

In mid-1991, the Sovereign National Conference removed the word ''populaire'' ("People's") from the country's official name, while also replacing the flag and anthem that had been used under the PCT government. The Sovereign National Conference ended the PCT government, appointing a transitional Prime Minister, André Milongo, who was invested with executive powers. President Denis Sassou Nguesso was allowed to remain in office in a ceremonial capacity during the transitional period.Clark, "Congo: Transition and the Struggle to Consolidate", page 69.

Events and emblems

File:Marien Ngouabi & Nicolae Ceaușescu, Congo 1972.jpg, President Marien Ngouabi with

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

's leader Nicolae Ceaușescu (1972) File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1982-0922-029, Bennewitz, Besuch einer kongolesischen Delegation.jpg, A PR Congo delegation during an official visit to

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

(1982) File:Flag of the Congo Army (1970-1992).svg, Flag of the PR Congo Army (1970–1992) File:Roundel of Congo 1970.svg, Roundel of the PRC Air Force (1970–1992)

References

External links

* {{Coord, 4, 16, S, 15, 17, E, display=title, region:RU_type:isle_source:GNS-enwiki States and territories established in 1969 States and territories disestablished in 1992 1969 establishments in the Republic of the Congo 1992 disestablishments in Africa Communism in the Republic of the Congo Communist states Congo