Marien Ngouabi
Encyclopedia
Republic of the Congo
The Republic of the Congo , sometimes known locally as Congo-Brazzaville, is a state in Central Africa. It is bordered by Gabon, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo , the Angolan exclave province of Cabinda, and the Gulf of Guinea.The region was dominated by...
from January 1, 1969 to March 18, 1977.
Origins
Marien Ngouabi was born in 1938 at Ombellé, CuvetteCuvette
A cuvette is a small tube of circular or square cross section, sealed at one end, made of plastic, glass, or fused quartz and designed to hold samples for spectroscopic experiments. The best cuvettes are as clear as possible, without impurities that might affect a spectroscopic reading...
département, in Mboshi territory. His family was of humble origins.
From 1947 to 1953 he went to primary school in Owando
Owando
Owando is a town in the central Republic of the Congo, lying on the Kouyou River. It is the capital of Cuvette Department and an autonomous commune...
.
In 1953 he went to study to the Ecole des enfants de troupes Général Leclerc in Brazzaville
Brazzaville
-Transport:The city is home to Maya-Maya Airport and a railway station on the Congo-Ocean Railway. It is also an important river port, with ferries sailing to Kinshasa and to Bangui via Impfondo...
and in 1957 he was sent to Bouar
Bouar
Bouar is a market town in the western Central African Republic, lying on the main road from Bangui to the frontier with Cameroon . The city has a population of 40,353, while the whole sous-préfecture has a population of 96,595 and is the capital of Nana-Mambéré prefecture...
, Oubangui-Chari
Oubangui-Chari
Oubangui-Chari, or Ubangi-Shari, was a French territory in central Africa which later became the independent Central African Republic . French activity in the area began in 1889 with the establishment of an outpost at Bangui, now the capital of CAR. The territory was named in 1894.In 1903, French...
(now the Central African Republic
Central African Republic
The Central African Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It borders Chad in the north, Sudan in the north east, South Sudan in the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo in the south, and Cameroon in the west. The CAR covers a land area of about ,...
.
After serving in Cameroun (1958–1960), Marien went to the Ecole Militaire Préparatoire in Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and then to the Ecole Inter-armes at Coëtquidan Saint-Cyr
École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr
The École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr is the foremost French military academy. Its official name is . It is often referred to as Saint-Cyr . Its motto is "Ils s'instruisent pour vaincre": literally "They study to vanquish" or "Training for victory"...
in 1961. He returned to Congo in 1962 as Second Lieutenant and was stationed at the Pointe-Noire
Pointe-Noire
Pointe-Noire is the second largest city in the Republic of the Congo, following the capital of Brazzaville, and an autonomous department since 2004. Before this date it was the capital of the Kouilou region . It is situated on a headland between Pointe-Noire Bay and the Atlantic Ocean...
garrison. In 1963 Marien Ngouabi was promoted to Lieutenant.
Rise to power
In 1965 he created the first battalion of paratrooperParatrooper
Paratroopers are soldiers trained in parachuting and generally operate as part of an airborne force.Paratroopers are used for tactical advantage as they can be inserted into the battlefield from the air, thereby allowing them to be positioned in areas not accessible by land...
s in the Congo Republic. Known for his leftist views, in April 1966 Ngouabi was demoted to the rank of soldier second class when he refused to be posted again at Pointe-Noire.
President Alphonse Massamba-Débat had Ngouabi and Second Lieutenant Eyabo arrested on July 29, 1968.
Ngouabi's arrest provoked discontent among the military, and on July 31 Ngouabi was freed by soldiers. The National Revolutionary Council (CNR), headed by Ngouabi, was created on August 5, 1968. Massamba-Débat, whose powers had been curtailed by the CNR, resigned on September 4, and Prime Minister Alfred Raoul
Alfred Raoul
Alfred Raoul was a Republic of the Congo Prime Minister from 5 September 1968 to 1 January 1969....
served as acting head of state until December 31, 1968, when the CNR formally became the country's supreme authority and Ngouabi, as head of the CNR, assumed the presidency.
Head of state
Once in power, President Ngouabi changed the country's name to the People's Republic of the CongoPeople's Republic of the Congo
The People's Republic of the Congo was a self-declared Marxist-Leninist socialist state that was established in 1970 in the Republic of the Congo...
, declaring it to be Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
's first Marxist-Leninist state, and founded the Congolese Workers' Party
Congolese Party of Labour
The Congolese Party of Labour , founded in 1969 by Marien Ngouabi, is the ruling political party of the Republic of the Congo...
(Parti Congolais du Travail, PCT) as the country's sole legal political party.
Ngouabi was a Kouyou from the north and his regime shifted control of the country away from the south. Such moves created opposition among the population in the highly politicized environment of Brazzaville
Brazzaville
-Transport:The city is home to Maya-Maya Airport and a railway station on the Congo-Ocean Railway. It is also an important river port, with ferries sailing to Kinshasa and to Bangui via Impfondo...
. There was an attempted coup in February 1972 that triggered a series of 'purges' of the opposition. It is claimed that Ngouabi was under French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
pressure to annex the oil
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
-rich Cabinda
Cabinda (province)
Cabinda is an exclave and province of Angola, a status that has been disputed by many political organizations in the territory. The capital city is also called Cabinda. The province is divided into four municipalities - Belize, Buco Zau, Cabinda and Cacongo.Modern Cabinda is the result of a fusion...
enclave, a part of Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
, and his refusal to act cost him French support. There is some speculation that the French financed some of the following attempts to remove Ngouabi. He visited the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
in July 1973.
Ngouabi was re-elected to his post as Chairman of the PCT Central Committee on December 30, 1974; he was additionally elected as Permanent Secretary of the PCT. He was then sworn in as President for another term on January 9, 1975. Also in 1975, he signed an economic aid pact with the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
Assassination
On March 18, 1977, President Ngouabi was assassinated by an alleged suicide commando. The persons accused of taking part in the plot were tried and some of them executed including Massamba-Débat.A Military Committee of the Party
Military Committee of the Congolese Labour Party
The Military Committee of the Congolese Labour Party was a military Committee which briefly ruled the People's Republic of the Congo between 18 March 1977 and 3 April 1977.Membership in 1977*Col. Joachim Yhombi-Opango*Maj. Denis Sassou Nguesso...
(CMP) was named to head an interim government with the conservative Colonel Joachim Yhombi-Opango
Joachim Yhombi-Opango
Jacques Joachim Yhombi Opango is a Congolese politician. He was an army officer who became Congo-Brazzaville's first general and served as Head of State of Congo-Brazzaville from 1977 to 1979. He is currently the President of the Rally for Democracy and Development , a political party, and served...
to serve as Head of State.
Commemoration
March 18 is Marien Ngouabi Day in the Republic of Congo.The country's only university is the Marien Ngouabi University
Marien Ngouabi University
Marien Ngouabi University is the only state-funded university in the Republic of Congo. It is located in the capital of Brazzaville.-History:...
in Brazzaville. Ngouabi is interred at the Marien Ngouabi Mausoleum in Brazzaville.