Moise Tshombe

Moïse Kapenda Tshombe (sometimes written Tshombé) (10 November 1919 – 29 June 1969) was a Congolese politician, in the country now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Biography

A member of the Lunda tribe, Tshombe was born near Musumba, in the then-Belgian Congo, the son of a successful businessman. He received his education from an American missionary school and later trained as an accountant. In the 1950s, he took over a chain of stores in Katanga Province and became involved in politics. He founded the CONAKAT party with Godefroid Munongo; the party promoted an independent, federal Congo.

CONAKAT won control of the Katanga provincial legislature in the May 1960 general elections. One month later, the Congo became an independent republic. Tshombe became President of the government of the province of Katanga. In the resulting strife and chaos following independence, Tshombe and CONAKAT declared Katanga's secession from the rest of the Congo. The Christian, anti-communist, pro-Western Tshombe declared that "we are seceding from chaos." Favoring continued ties with Belgium, Tshombe asked the Belgian government to send military officers to recruit and train a Katangese army.