President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Presidential Standard
Presidential Seal
Incumbent Joseph Kabila since 17 January 2001
Residence	Palais de la Nation Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Term length	5 years, renewable once
Inaugural holder	Joseph Kasavubu
Formation	1 July 1960

The president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (French: Président de la République démocratique du Congo, Swahili: Rais wa Jamhuri ya Kidemokrasia ya Kongo, Lingala: Mokonzi wa Republíki ya Kongó Demokratíki), is Congo's elected head of state, and the ex officio "supreme commander" (commander-in-chief) of the armed forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC).

The position of president in the DRC has existed since the first constitution – known as The Fundamental Law – of 1960. However the powers of this position have varied over the years, from a limited shared role in the executive branch, with a prime minister, to a full-blown dictatorship. Under the current constitution, the President exists as the highest institution in a semi-presidential Republic. The president is protected by the Republican Guard.

The constitutional mandate of the current president, Joseph Kabila, was due to expire on 20 December 2016 but has been extended until the end of 2017.

The semi-presidential system established by the constitution is largely borrowed from the French constitution. Although it is the prime minister and parliament that oversee much of the nation's actual lawmaking, the president wields significant influence, both formally and from constitutional convention. The president holds the nation's most senior office, and outranks all other politicians.