Laurent-Désiré Kabila

Laurent-Désiré Kabila (French pronunciation: [lo.ʁɑ̃ de.zi.ʁe ka.bi.la]; 27 November 1939 – 16 January 2001), usually known as Laurent Kabila or Kabila the Father (US: ), was a Congolese rebel and politician who served as the third president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1997 until his assassination in 2001.

Kabila initially gained prominence as an opponent of Mobutu Sese Seko during the Congo Crisis (1960–1965). He took part in the Simba rebellion and led the Communist-aligned Fizi rebel breakaway state in eastern Congo from 1967 to 1986 before disappearing from the public. In the 1990s, Kabila re-emerged as leader of the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberaton of Congo (ADFL), a Rwandan and Ugandan-sponsored rebel group that invaded Zaire and overthrew Mobutu during the First Congo War from 1996 to 1997. Following the war, Kabila became the new president of the country, whose name was changed back to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The following year, he ordered all foreign troops to leave the country following the Kasika massacre to prevent a potential coup, leading to the Second Congo War (1998–2003), in which his former Rwandan and Ugandan allies supported several rebel groups to overthrow him. In 2001, he was assassinated by one of his bodyguards, and was succeeded by his 29-year-old son Joseph.