The Democratic Republican Movement (MDR, French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

: Mouvement démocratique républicain) was a political party

Political party

A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...

 of Rwanda

Rwanda

Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...

. It was founded in 1991, after the National Republican Movement for Democracy and Development (MRND) lost its monopoly on politics and opposition parties became legal. The MDR took its name from President Grégoire Kayibanda

Grégoire Kayibanda

Grégoire Kayibanda was the first elected and second President of the Republic of Rwanda. He led Rwanda's struggle for independence from Belgium, and replaced the Tutsi monarchy with a republican form of government. He asserted Hutu majority power.-Early life and education:Grégoire Kayibanda was...

's political party, Parmehutu

Parmehutu

Parmehutu , also known as MDR-Parmehutu is a now-defunct political party of Rwanda and Burundi.It was founded by Grégoire Kayibanda as a political party of moderate Hutu...

-MDR. Like Parmehutu, the MDR's primary base of political support was in the center of the country, particularly Kayibanda's home prefecture of Gitarama.

In late 1991, the MDR joined with the Liberal Party

Liberal Party (Rwanda)

The Liberal Party is a political party in Rwanda that adheres to Liberalism. Higiro Prosper is the party's chairperson.The Liberal Party supported President Paul Kagame in the 2003 presidential election. In the parliamentary election held on 30 September 2003, the party won 10.6% of the popular...

 and the Social Democratic Party

Social Democratic Party (Rwanda)

The Social Democratic Party is a centre-left Social democratic political party in Rwanda. In the parliamentary election held on 30 September 2003, the party won 12.3% of the popular vote and 7 out of 53 seats...

 to form an opposition coalition that placed pressure on President Juvénal Habyarimana

Juvénal Habyarimana

Juvénal Habyarimana was the third President of the Republic of Rwanda, the post he held longer than any other president to date, from 1973 until 1994. During his 20-year rule he favored his own ethnic group, the Hutus, and supported the Hutu majority in neighboring Burundi against the Tutsi...

 and the MRND to implement democratic reforms. In March 1992, President Habyarimana named a multiparty government with a prime minister, Dismas Nsengiyaremye

Dismas Nsengiyaremye

Dismas Nsengiyaremye served as Prime Minister of Rwanda from 2 April 1992 to 18 July 1993.He was a member of the Democratic Republican Movement. During his term, he appointed Agathe Uwilingiyimana to the Ministry of Education, though she later succeeded him as PM.-References:...

, from the MDR. He was succeeded as prime minister in July 1993 by another MDR figure, Agathe Uwilingiyimana

Agathe Uwilingiyimana

Agathe Uwilingiyimana was a Rwandan political figure. She served as Prime Minister of Rwanda from 18 July 1993 until her death on 7 April 1994. Her term was ended when she was assassinated during the opening stages of the Rwandan Genocide...

.

Following their 1994 victory, the RPF named a new Broad Based Government of National Unity with the MDR's Faustin Twagiramungi as prime minister. The party was banned in 2006 following allegations that it promoted genocide ideology

Hutu Power

Hutu Power was an ideology propounded by the Akazu and other Hutu extremists in Rwanda. It contributed to the Rwandan Genocide in 1994 against the Tutsi and moderate Hutu.-Background:...

 against Tutsi

Tutsi

The Tutsi , or Abatutsi, are an ethnic group in Central Africa. Historically they were often referred to as the Watussi or Watusi. They are the second largest caste in Rwanda and Burundi, the other two being the Hutu and the Twa ....

.

The MDR was primarily Hutu

Hutu

The Hutu , or Abahutu, are a Central African people, living mainly in Rwanda, Burundi, and eastern DR Congo.-Population statistics:The Hutu are the largest of the three peoples in Burundi and Rwanda; according to the United States Central Intelligence Agency, 84% of Rwandans and 85% of Burundians...

 in composition. It is not to be confused with the former MRND party, which was the dominant party of Rwanda until 1994.

The current Prime Minister of Rwanda

Prime Minister of Rwanda

-List of Prime Ministers of Rwanda:-Affiliations:*Parmehutu - Party of the Hutu Emancipation Movement*MRND - National Republican Movement for Democracy and Development...

, Bernard Makuza

Bernard Makuza

Bernard Makuza is a Rwandan politician who was Prime Minister of Rwanda from 8 March 2000 to 6 October 2011. An ethnic Hutu, Makuza was a member of the Democratic Republican Movement before allegations were made that the party promoted genocide...

, was a member of the MDR.