Laurent-Désiré Kabila was President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from May 17, 1997.
Background
Ethnicity:
Kabila was born to a member of the Luba tribe in Baudoinville, Katanga Province, (now Moba, Tanganyika District) in the Belgian Congo. His father was a Luba and his mother was a Lunda.
Kabila was shot during the afternoon of January 16, 2001 by one of his bodyguards, Rashidi Kasereka, who was killed as he attempted to flee the scene.
Career
Laurent-Désiré Kabila (About this sound pronunciation (help·info)) (November 27, 1939 – January 18, 2001) was President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from May 17, 1997, when he overthrew Mobutu Sese Seko, until his assassination by one of his bodyguards on January 18, 2001. He was succeeded by his son Joseph eight days later.
Politics
The Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire was a coalition of Congolese dissidents, disgruntled minority groups and nations that toppled President Mobutu Sese Seko and brought Laurent Kabila to power in the First Congo War (1996-1997). While the group was successful in overthrowing the Mobutu dictatorship, the alliance fell apart after Kabila and his Ugandan and Rwandan backers turned on each other, marking the beginning of the Second Congo War on August 2, 1998.
Connections
He's married Sifa Mahanya and has a son Joseph Kabila (born 1971).