Patrice Lumumba

Patrice Emery Lumumba (1925 to 1961) was a Congolese nationalist leader who became the first prime minister of the independent Congo in June 1960. He led the Congolese National Movement from 1958 and was an African nationalist and pan-Africanist who helped bring about the end of Belgian colonial rule. Within weeks of independence an army mutiny began the Congo Crisis, and the provinces of Katanga and South Kasai declared themselves independent. The president dismissed Lumumba, and a coup led by Mobutu Sese Seko followed. Lumumba was captured while trying to reach his supporters in Stanleyville and was handed to the separatist authorities in Katanga, who tortured and executed him in January 1961. Belgium formally apologized in 2002, admitting moral responsibility, and he is widely seen as a martyr of anti-colonial liberation and the pan-African movement.