Michel Micombero
| Michel Micombero | |
|---|---|
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| 1st President of Burundi | |
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In office 28 November 1966 – 1 November 1976 |
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| Succeeded by | Jean-Baptiste Bagaza |
| 8th Prime Minister of Burundi | |
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In office 11 July 1966 – 28 November 1966 |
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| Preceded by | Léopold Biha |
| Succeeded by | Himself, as President |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
c.1940 Rutovu, Ruanda-Urundi (modern-day Burundi) |
| Died | August 6, 1983 (aged 43) Mogadishu, Somalia |
| Political party | Union for National Progress (UPRONA) |
| Spouse(s) | Adèle Nzeyimana (1965–) |
General Michel Micombero (c.1940–1983) was a Burundian politician and soldier who ruled the country as its first President and de facto dictator for the decade between 1966 and 1976. Micombero was a member of the Tutsi ethnic group.
Beginning his career as an officer in the Burundian army, Micombero studied in Belgium and rose to prominence for his role in helping to foil an attempted coup d'état in October 1965 where ethnic Hutu soldiers attempted to overthrow the country's (Tutsi) monarchy. After becoming Prime Minister in July 1966, Micombero lead two further coup d'états against the monarchy, which he perceived as too moderate, and the installation of himself as President in November 1966. As President, Micombero ruled Burundi as a military dictator. He led a one-party state which centralised the country's institutions and adapted political ideologies from other countries in the region. Dissent was repressed and, in 1972, an attempt to challenge Micombero's power led to a genocide against the Hutu population in which around 100,000 people, mainly Hutu, were killed. His regime finally collapsed in 1976 when he was ousted in a coup d'état by Jean-Baptiste Bagaza. He went into exile in Somalia and died in 1983.
Micombero was born in Rutovu, Bururi Province in Belgian-ruled Ruanda-Urundi in 1940. His parents were peasants from the Hema people, part of the Tutsi ethnic group. Micombero studied at Catholic mission schools in Burundi and, in 1960, joined the Burundian military which was being formed ahead of planned independence in 1962. As part of his training, he was sent to study at the Royal Military Academy in Brussels, Belgium to train as an officer. At the time of the independence of the Kingdom of Burundi in July 1962, he held the rank of captain.
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