Pierre Nzé (born 1939) is a Congolese politician and diplomat. During the single-party rule of the
Congolese Labour 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, Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist vanguard party w ...
(PCT), he held leading positions in the government and party. Later, he was Minister of State for Justice from 1997 to 1999, and he served in the
Senate of the Republic of the Congo
The Senate (''Sénat'') is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of the Republic of Congo (''Parlement''). It has 72 members (six for each of the 12 regions
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are ...
from 2002 to 2011.
Political career
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 ...
, Nzé was appointed as Minister of StateRémy Bazenguissa-Ganga, ''Les voies du politique au Congo: essai de sociologie historique'' (1997), Karthala Editions, page 150 . for Information, Popular Education, and Cultural Affairs in the government named on January 1, 1969. On June 21, 1969, Nzé was included on the five-member Executive Committee of the ruling National Revolutionary Council (CNR) as President of the Education, Press, and Propaganda Committee.Bazenguissa-Ganga, ''Les voies du politique au Congo: essai de sociologie historique'', pages 158–160 . He was a founding member of the PCT in December 1969 and was one of the original members of its Central Committee; he was also included in the party's original Political Bureau and was assigned responsibility for propaganda. He was again included in the smaller, five-member Political Bureau elected in December 1971 and was assigned responsibility for organization and propaganda.
Acting as spokesman for the PCT Political Bureau, Nzé announced a new draft constitution following its adoption by the December 1972 PCT congress; at the same congress, he was included on the PCT's five-member Political Bureau. He was expelled from the party along with others on June 11, 1976, although he was subsequently readmitted and restored to a seat on the Political Bureau. He was later
Minister of Foreign Affairs
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...
from 1979Bazenguissa-Ganga, ''Les voies du politique au Congo: essai de sociologie historique'', pages 263–264 . to 1984 under 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 p ...
;"Congo shuffles cabinet after politburo meeting" Reuters, 13 August 1984. he was also assigned responsibility for foreign relations on the Political Bureau during the same period. He made an official visit to the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
in May 1979.
In August 1984, Nzé was replaced as Foreign Minister by
Antoine Ndinga Oba Antoine Ndinga Oba (1941 – 17 May 2005"Sep 1987 - Internal political developments - Economic situation - Foreign relations" ''Keesing's Record of World Events'', volume 33, September 1987, page 35,370. Nzé was subsequently removed from the PCT Political Bureau at a plenary session of the Central Committee in November 1986, when the Political Bureau's size was decreased from 13 members to 10 members.
Following the introduction of multiparty politics, Nzé led the National Union for Democracy and Progress (UNDP), a political party founded in 1990. In June 1997, following the outbreak of the 1997 civil war, Nzé was included on the National Mediation Committee. He represented Sassou Nguesso in a consultation meeting related to the conflict that took place 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 ...
in mid-June. The war concluded with Sassou Nguesso's rebel forces capturing Brazzaville in October 1997, and in the national unity government formed under Sassou Nguesso on November 2, 1997,, ''Afrique Express'' .Calixte Baniafouna ''Congo démocratie : La bataille de Brazzaville (5 juin-15 octobre 1997) ', page 184 . Nzé was appointed as Minister of State for Justice. He headed the Republic of Congo's delegation to a meeting, held 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 ...
on September 22, 1998, in which bilateral relations between the Republic of Congo and
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 ...
were discussed. Acting on behalf of Congo-Brazzaville's government, he later signed a
non-aggression pact
A non-aggression pact or neutrality pact is a treaty between two or more states/countries that includes a promise by the signatories not to engage in military action against each other. Such treaties may be described by other names, such as a tr ...
with
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 ...
in December 1998.
In the government appointed on January 12, 1999, Nzé was replaced as Justice Minister, and he was not included in the government. He was then appointed as a Political Delegate to the President of the Republic on January 18, 1999.
Standing as a UNDP candidate, Nzé was elected as a Senator from
Sangha Region
Sangha is a department of the Republic of the Congo in the northern part of the country. It borders the departments of Cuvette, Cuvette-Ouest, and Likouala, and internationally, Cameroon, Gabon and the Central African Republic. The regional ca ...
in the 2002 Senate election. On August 23, 2002, he was elected by the Senate as a Vice-President of the Commission on Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration, and Development Cooperation. In the October 2005 Senate election, Nzé was re-elected to the Senate as a UNDP candidate in Sangha Region. He received the votes of 54 electors, placing sixth and therefore winning the last of the six available seats from Sangha Region.
The UNDP merged into the
New Democratic Forces
The New Democratic Forces (French: ''Forces démocratiques nouvelles'') was a political party in Congo-Brazzaville from 2007 to 2011.
Seven parties,Cyr Armel Yabbat-Ngo"Bokilo, Opimbat, Tassoua, Loumouamou et les autres se mettent ensemble et cré ...
(FDN) in early 2007, and Nzé became one of three FDN senators. Following the FDN's First Ordinary Congress on 2–3 May 2010, Nze was installed as one of the seven members of the High Council of Dignitaries, a consultative body within the FDN leadership, on 1 June 2010.
Nzé was appointed as Personal Representative of the President on 20 September 2011. He was not re-elected to the Senate in the October 2011 Senate election.Cyr Armel Yabbat-Ngo "Elections sénatoriales : Que fera Pierre Ngolo, après le revers du P.c.t dans la Bouenza et le Kouilou?" ''La Semaine Africaine'', 15 October 2011 .