Republic of the Congo (Leopoldville)
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Republic of the Congo (1960–1964) République du Congo Democratic Republic of the Congo (1964–1971) République démocratique du Congo |
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Motto "Justice – Paix – Travail" (French) "Justice – Peace – Work" |
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Anthem Debout Congolais (French) Arise, Congolese |
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| Capital | Léopoldville (renamed Kinshasa in 1966) | |||||||||||||
| Languages |
French (official)
Lingala · Kikongo · Kiswahili Tshiluba (national) |
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| Government | Parliamentary republic | |||||||||||||
| President | ||||||||||||||
| • | 1960–1965 | Joseph Kasa-Vubu | ||||||||||||
| • | 1965–1971 | Joseph-Desiré Mobutu | ||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | ||||||||||||||
| • | 1960 | Patrice Lumumba | ||||||||||||
| • | 1961–1964 | Cyrille Adoula | ||||||||||||
| • | 1965 | Évariste Kimba | ||||||||||||
| Historical era | Cold War | |||||||||||||
| • | Independence | 30 June 1960 | ||||||||||||
| • | Kasai defeated | 30 December 1961 | ||||||||||||
| • | Katanga defeated | 15 January 1963 | ||||||||||||
| • | Country renamed DRC | 1 August 1964 | ||||||||||||
| • | Coup d'état | 25 November 1965 | ||||||||||||
| • | Name changed to Zaire | 27 October 1971 | ||||||||||||
| Area | 2,345,410 km² (905,568 sq mi) | |||||||||||||
| Currency | Congolese franc | |||||||||||||
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| Today part of |
 Democratic Republic of Congo
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The Republic of the Congo (French: République du Congo) was a sovereign state in Central Africa that was created with the independence of the Belgian Congo in 1960. The country was often known as Congo-Léopoldville (after its capital) in order to distinguish it from its north-western neighbour, also called the Republic of the Congo or Congo-Brazzaville. On 1 August 1964, the state was re-named the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In 1971, the state's name changed to Zaire.
The period between 1960 and 1965 is referred to as the First Congolese Republic, and the current Democratic Republic of the Congo is the Third Republic.
Unrest and rebellion continued to plague the government until 1965, when Lieutenant General Joseph Désiré Mobutu, now commander-in-chief of the national army, seized control of the country. Mobutu changed the country's name to Zaire in 1971 and remained its president until 1997.
Conditions in the Congo improved following the Belgian government's takeover in 1908 of the Congo Free State, which had been a personal possession of the Belgian king. Some Bantu languages were taught in primary schools, a rare occurrence in colonial education. Colonial doctors greatly reduced the spread of African trypanosomiasis, commonly known as sleeping sickness.
During World War II, the small Congolese army achieved several victories against the Italians in East Africa. The Belgian Congo, which was also rich in uranium deposits, supplied the uranium that was used by the United States to build the atomic weapons that were used in the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.
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