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Definition: Mobutu Sese Seko from Merriam-Webster's Collegiate(R) Dictionary

Mobutu Sese Seko 1930–1997 orig. Joseph-Désiré Mobutu pres. of Zaire (1965–97)


Mobutu Sese Seko

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
(mōbō'tō sā'sā sā'kō), 1930–97, president of Zaïre (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). Born Joseph Désiré Mobutu, he returned from study in Brussels to the then Belgian Congo, joining the nationalist movement in 1956. In 1960 he led an army coup against the nationalist government of Patrice Lumumba ; Mobutu soon became the army chief of staff. In a second coup (1965), he assumed the office of prime minister (1966), then established (1967) a presidential form of government headed by himself; the constitution did not come into force until 1970, when Mobutu was old enough to become president. As part of his program of “national authenticity,” Mobutu changed the Congo's name to Zaïre (1971) and his own name to Mobutu Sese Seko (1972). Citizens were required to drop their Christian names; place names were Africanized. Power was concentrated in Mobutu, who, backed by Western intelligence agencies that saw in him a foil to such leftist states as Angola, established a one-party state…
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Full text Article Mobutu Sese Seko

From Philip's Encyclopedia
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Full text Article Mobutu Sese Seko

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
(born Oct. 14, 1930, Lisala, Belgian Congo—died Sept. 7, 1997, Rabat, Mor.) President of Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), 1965–97. Mobutu served in the Belgian Congolese army and as a journalist before joining Patrice Lumumba in independence negotiations in Brussels in 1960. When…
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Full text Article Mobutu Sese Seko

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
(mōbō'tō sā'sā sā'kō), 1930–97, president of Zaïre (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). Born Joseph Désiré Mobutu, he returned from study in Brussels to the then Belgian Congo, joining the nationalist movement in 1956. In 1960 he led an army coup against the nationalist government of Patrice…
| 264 words
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Full text Article MOBUTU, Sese Seko

From An African Biographical Dictionary
Sese Seko Mobutu
Mobutu Sese Seko, a tyrant and ruthless opportunist who has ruled his country for 30 years, took over a nation that was in chaos and violence, and imposed order on it through state terrorism. In the 1990s, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) again slid into anarchy as his power came to an…
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Also known as: Joseph-Désiré Mobutu; Mobutu Sese Seko Ngbender wa za Banga (b. 1930–d. 1997) president and dictator of Zaïre (now Democratic Republic of the Congo) Mobutu Sese Seko, a member of the Ngbandi ethnic group, was born in Lisala, Belgian Congo, in 1930. After receiving a Catholic education…
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Full text Article Mobutu, Sese Seko Kuku Ngbeandu Wa Za Banga

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
President of Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) 1965–97. The harshness of some of his policies and charges of corruption attracted widespread international criticism. He assumed the presidency in a coup, and created a unitary state under a centralized government. In 1991 opposition leaders…
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originally Joseph-Désiré Mobutu 1930-97 Zairean soldier and politician Born into a poor family in Lisala, he undertook army training and a period of study in Brussels, before joining the Force Publique in 1949. By 1956 he was a colonel. He joined Patrice Lumumba's Mouvement National Congolais in…
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Full text Article Mobutu Sese Seko

From The American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language
| 59 words
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Full text Article Mobutu Sese Seko, Lake

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
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