Bernard Kolélas
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Bernard Bakana Kolélas (12 June 1933Alain Kounzilat, , Kimpwanza (planeteafrique.com) . – 13 November 2009Thierry Noungou
"Parlement - Bernard Bakana Kolélas décédé ce 13 novembre à Paris"
, ''Les Dépêches de Brazzaville'', 13 November 2009 .
) was a
Congolese Congolese or Kongolese may refer to: African peoples * Congolese people (disambiguation) * Kongo people, a Bantu ethnic group who live along the Atlantic coast of Africa from Pointe-Noire (Republic of Congo) to Luanda, Angola, primarily defined by ...
politician and President of the
Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integral Development The Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integral Development (; MCDDI) is a Liberalism, liberal political party in the Republic of the Congo, led by Bernard Kolélas until his death in 2009. His son, Guy Brice Parfait Kolélas, has led the party ...
(MCDDI). Kolélas was a long-time opponent of the single-party rule of the
Congolese Labour Party The Congolese Party of Labour (, 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 People's Republic of the Congo. It to ...
(PCT), and after the introduction of multiparty politics in the early 1990s he was one of Congo-Brazzaville's most important political leaders. He placed second in the August 1992 presidential election, behind
Pascal Lissouba Pascal Lissouba (15 November 1931 – 24 August 2020) was a Congolese politician who was the first democratically elected President of the Republic of the Congo and served from 31 August 1992 until 25 October 1997. He was overthrown by his pred ...
; subsequently he was
mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
of
Brazzaville Brazzaville () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Republic of the Congo. Administratively, it is a Departments of the Republic of the Congo, department and a Communes of the Republic of the Congo, commune. Constituting t ...
, the capital, during the mid-1990s, and he briefly served as Prime Minister of Congo-Brazzaville during the 1997 civil war. After rebel forces prevailed in the civil war, he lived in exile for eight years until an amnesty made it possible for him to return; he was then elected to the
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...
in 2007.


Education and early political career

A native of Congo-Brazzaville's
Pool Region Pool () is a department of the Republic of the Congo in the southeastern part of the country. It borders the departments of Bouenza, Lékoumou, and Plateaux. Internationally, it borders the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It also surrounds t ...
, Kolélas was born at Mboloki (Mpayaka), located in the Pool's
Kinkala District Kinkala is a district in the Pool Department of south-eastern Republic of the Congo, south of Brazzaville Brazzaville () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Republic of the Congo. Administratively, it is a Departments ...
, in 1933. He attended primary and secondary school in the nearby administrative capital of
Brazzaville Brazzaville () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Republic of the Congo. Administratively, it is a Departments of the Republic of the Congo, department and a Communes of the Republic of the Congo, commune. Constituting t ...
. He joined the Union for the Defense of the Interests of Africans (UDDIA) in 1958. Under
Fulbert Youlou Fulbert Youlou (19 July 1917 – 6 May 1972) was a Republic of the Congo, Congolese Nationalism, nationalist leader and former Catholic Church, Catholic priest who became the first President of the Republic of the Congo upon its independence in ...
, who was Congo-Brazzaville's first President, Kolélas worked for a time as Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1961. After Youlou was ousted and
Alphonse Massemba-Débat Alphonse may refer to: * Alphonse (given name) * Alphonse (surname) * Alphonse Atoll, one of two atolls in the Seychelles' Alphonse Group *Alphonso (mango), a mango-cultivar from India See also *Alphons Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adel ...
took power in August 1963, Kolélas was appointed as Minister of Foreign Affairs, but he preferred that the post should go to David Charles Ganao and chose not to accept it. Kolélas was arrested in September 1963 and spent one month in detention. He was arrested again in February 1964, but was freed at the request of Prime Minister Pascal Lissouba. He then went into exile across the
Congo River The Congo River, formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second-longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the third-largest river in the world list of rivers by discharge, by discharge volume, following the Amazon Ri ...
in
Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-grow ...
, the capital of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...
, and founded an opposition newspaper, ''La Résistance''.


Activities during PCT rule

In November 1969, Kolélas unsuccessfully attempted a ''
coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...
'' against President
Marien Ngouabi Marien Ngouabi (December 31, 1938 – March 18, 1977) was a Congolese politician and military officer who served as the fourth President of the People's Republic of the Congo from 1969 until his assassination in 1977. Biography Origins Marien ...
. He was sentenced to death, but was granted a reprieve and subsequently released on 1 January 1972 and put. He was again arrested in connection with another plot in August 1978 and was released in 1980. Afterwards he lived in
Brazzaville Brazzaville () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Republic of the Congo. Administratively, it is a Departments of the Republic of the Congo, department and a Communes of the Republic of the Congo, commune. Constituting t ...
's Bacongo district. He sent letters to President
Denis Sassou Nguesso Denis Sassou Nguesso (born 23 November 1943) is a Congolese politician and former military officer who has served as president of the Republic of the Congo since 1997. He also previously served as president from 1979 to 1992. Sassou Nguesso he ...
on 7 November 1988 and 20 November 1989, proposing a national roundtable discussion on the country's problems.


MCDDI and URD

Kolélas later founded a political party, the MCDDI; its statutes were deposited at the Ministry of the Interior on 3 August 1989. In the June–July 1992 parliamentary election, he was elected to the National Assembly as the MCDDI candidate in
Goma Tsé-Tsé Goma is a city in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the capital and largest city of the North Kivu Province; it is located on the northern shore of Lake Kivu and shares borders with the Bukumu Chiefdom to the north, Rwanda to ...
constituency, located in the Pool Region.Gankama N'Siah
"Le sort des poids lourds positionnés dans les circonscriptions électorales de l'hinterland"
, ''Les Dépêches de Brazzaville'', 20 June 2007 .
Kolélas then stood as the MCDDI candidate in the August 1992 presidential election, placing second.John F. Clark, "Congo: Transition and the Struggle to Consolidate", in ''Political Reform in Francophone Africa'' (1997), ed. John F. Clark and David E. Gardinier, pages 70–75.Xavier Bienvenu Kitsimbou
"LA DEMOCRATIE ET LES REALITES ETHNIQUES AU CONGO"
University of Nancy II, October 26, 2001, pages 104–105 .
In the first round he won 20.32% of the vote, behind Pascal Lissouba of the
Pan-African Union for Social Democracy The Pan-African Union for Social Democracy (, 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's main opposition party since Lissouba's ouster in 199 ...
(UPADS) and ahead of the PCT candidate, President Sassou Nguesso. His support was strongest in the Pool Region, where he won 64.4% of the vote in the first round; he did not win a first round majority in any other region, although he placed first in Brazzaville with 29.9% of the vote. In the second round, the PCT backed Lissouba and Kolélas was defeated, taking 38.68% of the vote; he won second round majorities in the Pool Region (88.71%), Brazzaville (56.80%), and
Kouilou Region Kouilou ( ) is a department of the Republic of the Congo. Covering the country's coastline, it has an area of 13,650 square kilometres and at the start of 2023 it was home to about 97,362 people. The department borders Niari Department, the ...
(50.77%) but fared very poorly in the rest of the country. A period of instability in Congolese politics followed the 1992 election. Kolélas led an opposition coalition, the Union for Democratic Renewal (URD), in alliance with the PCT, despite Kolélas' prior opposition to the PCT. The conflict between the government and the opposition became more severe following the May–June 1993 parliamentary election, and about 2,000 people were killed in serious political violence from 1993 to 1994. In January 1994, the army blockaded the Bacongo district of Brazzaville, the stronghold of Kolélas' Ninja militia, and attacked the Ninjas with heavy weaponry. Following an agreement on 30 January 1994, the violence was reduced, and Lissouba and Kolélas publicly reconciled in June 1994. In July 1994, Kolélas was elected as Mayor of Brazzaville.


1997 civil war

During the 1997 civil war, Kolélas was President of the National Mediation Committee. President Lissouba, seeking to secure his position and resolve the conflict by bringing his opponents into the government, appointed Kolélas as Prime Minister at the head of a
government of national unity A national unity government, government of national unity (GNU), or national union government is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties (or all major parties) in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other nati ...
in September 1997. The government under Kolélas was composed of 41 members; although the rebel coalition loyal to Sassou Nguesso was offered some portfolios in the government, it rejected the offer. Lissouba and Kolélas were ousted and forced into exile when forces loyal to Sassou-Nguesso captured Brazzaville on October 14, 1997. Ninja rebels loyal to Kolélas continued to fight for some time afterwards. In November 1998, Kolélas spurned a government offer of dialogue. Pro-Kolélas rebels unsuccessfully attempted to seize Brazzaville in December 1998, and Kolélas, who was in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
at the time, claimed that his forces were effectively in control of the city, while suggesting that he might return home to lead the country. The government rejected Kolélas' claim and said that the army had the upper hand. A few days later, Kolélas described the rebellion as an uprising of the youth, and he said that it had only been defeated due to intervention by
Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...
n troops on the side of the government.


Exile and return

On May 4, 2000, Kolélas was sentenced to death ''
in absentia ''In Absentia'' is the seventh studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released on 24 September 2002. The album marked several changes for the band, with it being the first with new drummer Gavin Harrison and the f ...
'' by a Congolese court for illegal arrests, abductions, and rape."L’Assemblée nationale adopte la loi amnistiant Bernard Kolelas"
, ''Les Dépêches de Brazzaville'', November 24, 2005 .
In October 2005, he returned to Congo from exile to attend the funeral of his wife, Jacqueline; Sassou Nguesso granted Kolélas a special amnesty for the occasion on humanitarian grounds, enabling him to visit. In the Bacongo district of Brazzaville, excitement led to clashes between his supporters and the police on October 13, immediately prior to his return. The National Assembly unanimously adopted a law granting an amnesty to Kolélas on November 23, 2005. On behalf of his party, Kolélas signed an agreement on the creation of an electoral alliance between the MCDDI and the PCT on April 24, 2007. In the subsequent 2007 parliamentary election, Kolélas was elected to the National Assembly as the MCDDI candidate in Goma Tsé-Tsé constituency;"Elections législatives : les 44 élus du premier tour"
, ''Les Dépêches de Brazzaville'', 2 July 2007 .
facing two challengers, he won the seat in the first round with 86.44% of the vote. As the oldest Deputy in the National Assembly, he presided over the first meeting of the newly elected National Assembly, at which the bureau of the National Assembly was elected, on September 4, 2007."La nouvelle Assemblée nationale entre en fonction"
Xinhua (Jeuneafrique.com), September 5, 2007 .
Reportedly suffering from
Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...
, Kolélas was hospitalized in Paris in late 2007.Joël Nsoni
"Le président Bernard Kolélas hospitalisé à Paris"
, ''Le Semaine Africaine'', N° 2749, December 4, 2007, page 2 .
In 2009, he spent several months in Paris for medical treatment"Congo: décès de l'ex-Premier ministre et maire de Brazzaville Bernard Kolélas"
AFP, 13 November 2009 .
before dying there in the early hours of 13 November 2009 at the age of 76.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kolelas, Bernard 1933 births 2009 deaths Prime ministers of the Republic of the Congo Mayors of Brazzaville Members of the National Assembly (Republic of the Congo) Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integral Development politicians Republic of the Congo exiles People from Pool Department 20th-century Republic of the Congo politicians 21st-century Republic of the Congo politicians