Dominique Diur (born at Kamulemba in 1929) was a Congolese and Katangese politician who was one of the founders of the

CONAKAT The Confederation of Tribal Associations of Katanga (, or CONAKAT) was one of the main political parties in the Belgian Congo and was led by the pro-Western regionalist Moïse Tshombe and his interior minister, Godefroid Munongo. It became the ru ...

party.

Early life

Diur grew up in the

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964. Colo ...

. His father was a dignitary of the chieftaincy of Kayembe Mukulu. He followed his primary education at the Catholic mission of Sandoa, he then continued to the Franciscan small seminary of Luabo, and later the Scheut major seminary of Kabue, Kasai. He followed advanced education in law at the

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Élisabethville Lubumbashi (former names: (French language, French), (Dutch language, Dutch)) is the second-largest city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, located in the country's southeasternmost part, along the border with Zambia. The capital and pr ...

. After his studies, he followed an internship at the

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...

. Diur started his professional career at the Belgian Congo Radio in Élisabethville, before working at the local court (''Juridiction indigène''). He was elected as a municipal councillor for the Élisabethville commune of

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in 1957 and reelected in 1959. In 1958, a group of young ''

évolué ''Évolué'' (, "evolved" or "developed") is a French label used during the colonial era to refer to a native African or Asian who had "evolved" by becoming Europeanised through education or assimilation and had accepted European values and p ...

s'' with an anti-Kasaian mindset including Diur,

Évariste Kimba Évariste Leon Kimba Mutombo (16 July 1926 – 2 June 1966) was a Congolese journalist and politician who served as Foreign Minister of the State of Katanga from 1960 to 1963 and Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 13 Oct ...

Albert Nyembo Albert Nyembo Mwana-Ngongo (born 30 May 1929) is a Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congolese and State of Katanga, Katangese politician who was a Secretary of State and Minister for Congo and secessionist Katanga. Early life Nyembo went to sc ...

, and

Godefroid Munongo Godefroid Munongo Mwenda M'Siri (1925–1992) was a Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congolese politician. He was a minister and briefly interim president, in 1961. It has been claimed he was involved in ethnic cleansing and in the assassination ...

, grouped together to form

State of Katanga

Congo became independent on 30 June 1960. Eleven days later, Katanga's governor

Moïse Tshombe Moïse Kapenda Tshombe (sometimes written Tshombé) (10 November 1919 – 29 June 1969) was a Congolese businessman and politician. He served as the president of the secessionist State of Katanga from 1960 to 1963 and as prime minister of the Re ...

declared the independence of the

State of Katanga The State of Katanga; sw, Inchi Ya Katanga) also sometimes denoted as the Republic of Katanga, was a breakaway state that proclaimed its independence from Congo-Léopoldville on 11 July 1960 under Moise Tshombe, leader of the local ''Co ...

from the mainland. Diur became the ''chef de cabinet'' of Katangese Minister of Justice Valentin Ilunga. In December 1960, Diur attended an anti-communist conference, organised by Suzanne Labin, at the

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

headquarters in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

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 ...

. He stayed in the city to establish the permanent delegation of Katanga in France on , not far from NATO and the

Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; french: links=yes, tour Eiffel ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. Locally nicknamed "'' ...

. The appointment came at a time when Katanga sought to intensify its ties with France. French Prime Minister

Michel Debré Michel Jean-Pierre Debré (; 15 January 1912 – 2 August 1996) was the first Prime Minister of the French Fifth Republic. He is considered the "father" of the current Constitution of France. He served under President Charles de Gaulle from 1959 ...

sent out SDECE officer to Élisabethville, and accepted an official visit by Diur.

Lualaba Province

On 28 May 1963, after the end of the Katangese secession, Diur was thrown in jail by

on charges of misappropriating public funds, but released by the new Interior Minister. At the time of his release, he ran for President of the

Lualaba Province Lualaba is one of the 21 new provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo created in the 2015 repartitioning. Lualaba, Haut-Katanga, Haut-Lomami, and Tanganyika provinces are the result of the dismemberment of the former Katanga province. ...

against Moïse Tshombe's brother Thomas. He was elected as the President, from 1965 the governor, of the province. He held office from 23 September 1963 until 24 April 1966. During his time as the provincial governor, the construction of an omnisport stadium began in the province's capital

Kolwezi Kolwezi or Kolwesi is the capital city of Lualaba Province in the south of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, west of Likasi. It is home to an airport and a railway to Lubumbashi. Just outside of Kolwezi there is the static inverter plant of ...

Later life

In April 1966, the Lualaba province was merged with

Katanga Oriental Haut-Katanga District (Upper Katanga District) is a former district located in the former Katanga Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The copper mining centers of Lubumbashi and Likasi were surrounded by the district but were admin ...

into one province of South Katanga. Diur's rival

became its governor, with Diur as vice-governor. When intelligence reports (and a series of articles in ''

Jeune Afrique ''Jeune Afrique'' (English: ''Young Africa'') is a French-language pan-African weekly news magazine, founded in 1960 in Tunis and subsequently published in Paris. It is the most widely read pan-African magazine. It is also a book publisher, unde ...

'') showed that a mercenary training camp, favourable to the exiled Tshombe, existed in the

Ardèche Ardèche (; oc, Ardecha; frp, Ardecha) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. It is named after the river Ardèche and had a population of 328,278 as of 2019.Forrest Group The Forrest Group (also Groupe Forrest) is a group of companies founded around the mining industry in 1922. As of 2018, the Forrest Group is active primarily in Central and East Africa. It is owned by George Arthur Forrest, a Belgian entrepreneur ...

References

External links

Visit of Moïse Tshombe to the Katangese mission in Paris on 6 December 1961

British Pathé British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

news archive. {{DEFAULTSORT:Diur, Dominique 1929 births Year of death missing CONAKAT politicians Government ministers of the State of Katanga People of the Congo Crisis People of the State of Katanga Government ministers of the Democratic Republic of the Congo