Pascal Lissouba

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Pascal Lissouba
Prime Minister of the Republic of Congo
In office
24 December 1963 – 15 April 1966
Preceded byAlphonse Massamba-Débat
Succeeded byAmbroise Noumazalaye
Personal details
Born(1931-11-15)15 November 1931
Tsinguidi, French Congo, French Equatorial Africa
Died24 August 2020(2020-08-24) (aged 88)
Perpignan, France
Political partyPan-African Union for Social Democracy
Other political
affiliations		National Movement of the Revolution
Spouse(s)Annette Chantegreil (?–?)
Jocelyne Rosdam (?–2020; his death)
Alma materUniversity of Paris

Pascal Lissouba (15 November 1931 – 24 August 2020)

1997 civil war
.

Early life and education

Lissouba was born in Tsinguidi, south-west Congo, to

ORSTOM. He was appointed lecturer in plant biology by decree of the French Ministry of National Education on November 3rd 1961.[3]

Political career

Initially he was a civil servant, working as a managing director in the Department of Agriculture (1962–63), having returned in 1962.[3] But his abilities advanced him to become Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Water, and Forestry on 16 August 1963[3] until 1966 and then Prime Minister (1963–66) under President Alphonse Massamba-Débat.[5] He was appointed Minister of State for Planning, then for Agriculture (1968–1969), before being sacked by the government.[5] Afterwards, he became a genetics professor at the University of Brazzaville (1966–1971) and later director of the Ecole Supérieure des Sciences in 1970.[5] When Massamba-Débat was overthrown in 1968 Lissouba remained in government under Marien Ngouabi and although he was suspended from political activity from 1969 to 1971 he was on the Central Committee of the Congolese Workers Party in 1973.

In 1977, he was implicated for involvement in the assassination of Ngouabi and was arrested. He was sentenced to life imprisonment and hard labour in 1977.

Bernard Kolelas
, Lissouba got 61% of the vote.

Unrest and civil war

Conflict soon broke out however. A coalition of opposition groups and their militias accused Lissouba of rigging the elections. Widespread civil war was averted when Gabon and the Organisation of African Unity intervened, but sporadic fighting continued until January 1995.[citation needed]

Fighting broke out again in June 1997 when Lissouba engaged militias loyal to former President Col.

Congo-Ocean Railway from the coastal city of Pointe-Noire was cut, and Brazzaville was heavily damaged before a cease-fire was agreed to in December 1999.[citation needed
]

Exile and trial

Following his overthrow, Lissouba lived in exile in London. He intended to return to the Congo for the 2002 elections, but in December 2001 he was tried in absentia in Brazzaville, and sentenced to 30 years forced labor for treason and corruption, related to a $150 million oil deal with the American company Occidental Petroleum.[8] Since 2004, he had been living in Paris in exile.[3]

Personal life

He was first married to Annette Chantegreil, then to Jocelyne Rosdam, a French national and is the father of eleven children. His eldest daughter, Mireille Lissouba, was his chief of staff from 1993 to 1996, while his younger daughter, Danielle Bineka is a university professor and writer, both currently exiled in Canada. His mother, Marie Bouanga died in 1996.[3]

Death

Lissouba died in Perpignan, France, on 24 August 2020,[9] due to complications from Alzheimer's disease, aged 88.[10]

See also

References

  1. ^ "L'Ancien président congolais Pascal Lissouba est mort". Le Monde.fr. 24 August 2020.
  2. ^ "Congo-Brazzaville : l'ancien président Pascal Lissouba est décédé en France – Jeune Afrique".
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Liste des présidents de la République du Congo Brazzaville" (in French). Consulate General of Congo in Tunis. 17 August 2014.
  4. ISBN 978-0-195-33770-9
    .
  5. ^ a b c d e f "Pascal Lissouba, le président sortant" (in French). Humanité. 9 June 1997.
  6. ^ Howard W. French (10 June 1997). "Army Fights Rebel Force To Control Brazzaville". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 December 2008.
  7. ^ Howard W. French (16 October 1997). "Rebels, Backed by Angola, Take Brazzaville and Oil Port". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 December 2008.
  8. ^ "Congolese ex-leader guilty of treason". BBC News. 29 December 2001. Retrieved 15 December 2008.
  9. ^ "Ex-Congo President Pascal Lissouba Dies At 88". Sellbeta. 24 August 2020. Archived from the original on 27 October 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  10. ^ "Former Congolese President Pascal Lissouba passed away at 88 in France". Archived from the original on 24 August 2020. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
Political offices
Preceded by
Prime Minister of the Republic of the Congo

1963–1966 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
President of the Republic of the Congo

1992–1997 		Succeeded by
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