The Republican Democratic Movement (, MDR) was a political party in

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

History

The party was established in 1991,Profiles: Kagame's opponents
BBC News, 22 August 2003 after the

National Republican Movement for Democracy and Development The National Revolutionary Movement for Development (, MRND) was the ruling political party of Rwanda from 1975 to 1994 under President Juvénal Habyarimana, running with first Vice President Édouard Karemera. From 1978 to 1991, the MRND was th ...

(MRND) lost its monopoly on politics and opposition parties were legalised. The MDR took its name from MDR-Parmehutu, the ruling party in the early 1960s. Like Parmehutu, the MDR's primary base of political support was Hutus in the centre of the country, particularly Kayibanda's home prefecture of Gitarama. In late 1991, the MDR joined with the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

and the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

to form an opposition coalition that placed pressure on President

Juvénal Habyarimana Juvénal Habyarimana (; ; 8 March 19376 April 1994) was a Rwandan politician and military officer who was the second president of Rwanda, from 1973 until Assassination of Juvénal Habyarimana and Cyprien Ntaryamira, his assassination in 1994. H ...

and the MRND to implement democratic reforms. In March 1992 Habyarimana named a multiparty government with a Prime Minister,

Dismas Nsengiyaremye Dismas Nsengiyaremye (born 1945) served as Prime Minister of Rwanda from 2 April 1992 to 18 July 1993. A native of Gitarama, he was a member of the Republican Democratic Movement and was appointed prime minister following an agreement between Pr ...

, from the MDR. He was succeeded as Prime Minister in July 1993 by another MDR member,

Agathe Uwilingiyimana Agathe Uwilingiyimana (; 23 May 1953 – 7 April 1994), sometimes known as Madame Agathe, was a Rwandan political figure. She served as Prime Minister of Rwanda from 18 July 1993 until her assassination on 7 April 1994, during the opening stages ...

. The MDR was ostensibly moderate but developed numerous extremist factions which professed

Hutu Power Hutu Power, or Hutu Supremacy, is an ethnic supremacist ideology that asserts the ethnic superiority of Hutu, often in the context of being superior to Tutsi and Twa, and therefore, they are entitled to dominate and murder these two groups an ...

beliefs. The most prominent extremist faction of the MDR was led by the party's vice president, Froduald Karamira, who was later executed for his participation in the 1994

Rwandan genocide The Rwandan genocide, also known as the genocide against the Tutsi, occurred from 7 April to 19 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. Over a span of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Gre ...

. After its victory in the

Rwandan Civil War The Rwandan Civil War was a large-scale civil war in Rwanda which was fought between the Rwandan Armed Forces, representing the country's government, and the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) from 1October 1990 to 18 July 1994. The war arose ...

in 1994, the

Rwandan Patriotic Front The Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF–Inkotanyi; , FPR) is the ruling political party in Rwanda. The RPF was founded in December 1987 by Rwandan Tutsi in exile in Uganda because of the ethnic violence that had occurred during the Rwandan Hutu Revo ...

(RPF) named a new Broad Based Government of National Unity with the MDR's

Faustin Twagiramungu Faustin Twagiramungu (14 August 1945 – 2 December 2023) was a Rwandan politician. He was Prime Minister of Rwanda from 1994 until his resignation in 1995, the first head of government appointed after the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) captured ...

as Prime Minister. He remained in office until 1995. In 2001, the MDR's

Bernard Makuza Bernard Makuza (born 30 September 1962) is a Rwandan politician who was Prime Minister of Rwanda from 8 March 2000 to 6 October 2011. He also served as President of the Senate of Rwanda from 14 October 2014 to 17 October 2019. Background Makuza' ...

was named prime minister. With elections scheduled for mid-2003, the MDR was the only opposition party able to challenge the RPF. However, on 15 April 2003, Parliament voted to dissolve the party and accused it of being "divisionist".Rwanda Holds First Election Since Genocide
LA Times, 25 August 2003 Several former MDR members formed the

Party for Progress and Concord The Party for Progress and Concord (; , PPC) is a political party in Rwanda. The party's motto is: 'Development; Concord; Rwanda's Welfare'. History The party was established in 2003 after the banning of the Republican Democratic Movement.Arthur ...

later that year.

References

Defunct political parties in Rwanda 1991 establishments in Rwanda Political parties established in 1991 2003 disestablishments in Rwanda Political parties disestablished in 2003 {{Rwanda-stub