On this day June 30, 1960

Congo gains independence from Belgium. In May 1960, the MNC party or Mouvement National Congolais, led by Patrice Lumumba, won the parliamentary elections, and Lumumba was appointed Prime Minister. Joseph Kasavubu, of the ABAKO (Alliance des Bakongo) party, was elected President by the parliament.

The Belgian Congo achieved independence on June 30, 1960 under the name “Republic of Congo” .

Patrice Émery Lumumba (2 July 1925 – 17 January 1961) was an African anti-colonial leader and the first legally elected Prime Minister of the Republic of the Congo after he helped to win its independence from Belgium in June 1960. Only ten weeks later, Lumumba’s government was deposed in coup during the Congo Crisis. He was subsequently imprisoned and assassinated under controversial circumstances.

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