The Transitional Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo was tasked with moving from the state riven by the Second Congo War (1998–2003) to a government based upon a constitution agreed on by consensus. In 2001, President

Laurent Kabila Laurent may refer to: *Laurent (name), a French masculine given name and a surname **Saint Laurence (aka: Saint ''Laurent''), the martyr Laurent **Pierre Alphonse Laurent, mathematician **Joseph Jean Pierre Laurent, amateur astronomer, discoverer ...

was assassinated, and his son

Joseph Kabila Joseph Kabila Kabange ( , ; born 4 June 1971) is a Congolese politician who served as President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo between January 2001 and January 2019. He took office ten days after the assassination of his father, Pres ...

was named head of state.

Background

In July 2002, the Pretoria Accord was signed on withdrawal of foreign forces. In October 2002, Joseph Kabila negotiated the withdrawal of Rwandan forces occupying eastern Congo. Two months later, the 'Global and All-Inclusive Agreement' was signed by all remaining warring parties to end the fighting and establish a government of national unity. Prunier writes: ''For a few months after the signing of the Sun City Agreement, things had stagnated as the delegates to the Intra-Congolese Dialogue kept debating in Pretoria about how to turn the piece of paper they had signed into some kind of reality. On April 1, 2003, they finally adopted the draft constitution which had been presented to them on March 6, and they agreed upon the outline of a transitional government.''

Gerard Prunier Gerard is a masculine forename of Proto-Germanic origin, variations of which exist in many Germanic and Romance languages. Like many other early Germanic names, it is dithematic, consisting of two meaningful constituents put together. In this ca ...

, ''From Genocide to Continental War: The "Congolese" Conflict and the Crisis of Contemporary Africa'', C. Hurst & Co, 2009, , 301.

History

On April 7, 2003,

was sworn in as transitional president.Prunier, 301. And on the next day, the last of the four agreed vice-presidents was named,

Azarias Ruberwa Azarias Ruberwa Manywa (born August 20, 1964) is a Congolese politician, lawyer, and public figure. During the Second Congo War he was Secretary-General of the Rassemblement Congolais pour la Démocratie (RCD-G) rebel group. Following the war he ...

for the RCD-G. He joined

Abdoulaye Yerodia Ndombasi Abdoulaye Yerodia Ndombasi (; 5 January 1933 – 19 February 2019) was a Congolese politician who served in the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1999 to 2000 and as Vice-President from 2003 to ...

for Kabila's government;

Jean-Pierre Bemba Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo (born 4 November 1962) is a politician in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He was one of four vice-presidents in the transitional government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 17 July 2003 to December 2 ...

for the MLC; and

Arthur Z'ahidi Ngoma Arthur Z'ahidi Ngoma (18 September 1947 – 5 October 2016) was one of four vice-presidents in the transitional government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He was sworn in on 17 July 2003, and left office in December 2006. Ngoma was born ...

for the political opposition. The first cabinet was announced on July 1. On July 17 2003, the four vice-presidents of the DRC's two-year transitional government took the oath of office in Kinshasa, but a day later on July 18, transitional government officials designated by the RCD-Goma and the MLC refused to take the oath of office because it included swearing allegiance to President Joseph Kabila. Over the course of September, a reinforced MONUC presence carried out the "Bunia, weapon-free zone" operation to demilitarize the province. They were partially successful, though conflicts continue to permeate the region. The transitional period came to end with the completion of the 2006 general election and the swearing in of Kabila as president on 6 December 2006.

References

External links

International Center for Transitional Justice, Democratic Republic of the Congo
* ttps://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/missions/past/monuc br>United States Holocaust Memorial Museum - Ripples of Genocide: Journey through Eastern Congo
testimonials from foreign visitors from 2002 and 2003 {{Cabinets of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Politics of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Political organisations based in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Congo, Transitional Government of the Democratic Republic of the

Background

History

See also

References

External links