Denis Sassou Nguesso: Difference between revisions
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Having already served as the [[Chairman of the African Union|Chairman]] of the [[Organisation of African Unity]] in [[1986]] to [[1987]], he was elected [[Chairman of the African Union|Chairman]] of the [[African Union]], the OAU's successor body, in January [[2006]]. |
Having already served as the [[Chairman of the African Union|Chairman]] of the [[Organisation of African Unity]] in [[1986]] to [[1987]], he was elected [[Chairman of the African Union|Chairman]] of the [[African Union]], the OAU's successor body, in January [[2006]]. |
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==Personal spending== |
==Personal spending/Congo-Brazzaville== |
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In January [[2007]], [[United Nations]] published accounts showed Sassou Nguesso personal spending habits. On one five night stay in April [[2006]] in [[New York]] at the [[Waldorf Astoria]], the suite occupied Sassou-Nguesso recorded £12,000 of room service charges during a five-night stay, and a total cost of £73,000<ref>http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-2036138,00.html</ref>. |
In January [[2007]], [[United Nations]] published accounts showed Sassou Nguesso personal spending habits. On one five night stay in April [[2006]] in [[New York]] at the [[Waldorf Astoria]], the suite occupied Sassou-Nguesso recorded £12,000 of room service charges during a five-night stay, and a total cost of £73,000<ref>http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-2036138,00.html</ref>. |
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When Sassou Nguesso attended the UN general assembly meeting in September [[2006]], almost £14,000 of room service at the Waldorf Astoria was added to his bill during another five-night stay. His entourage, including several members of his family, occupied 44 rooms which together ran up a bill of £130,000. The bills on [[September 19]] included two bottles of [[Cristal]] [[champagne]] charged at £400. This was pointed out by the British newspaper the [[Sunday Times]] to be: ''"comfortably more than the £106,000 that Britain gave the Republic of Congo in humanitarian aid in [[2006]]."''<ref>http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-2534564,00.html</ref> |
When Sassou Nguesso attended the UN general assembly meeting in September [[2006]], almost £14,000 of room service at the Waldorf Astoria was added to his bill during another five-night stay. His entourage, including several members of his family, occupied 44 rooms which together ran up a bill of £130,000. The bills on [[September 19]] included two bottles of [[Cristal]] [[champagne]] charged at £400. This was pointed out by the British newspaper the [[Sunday Times]] to be: ''"comfortably more than the £106,000 that Britain gave the Republic of Congo in humanitarian aid in [[2006]]."''<ref>http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-2534564,00.html</ref> |
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The spending was run up in the year that the World Bank, led by [[Paul Wolfowitz]], delayed the debt relief deal known as Congo-Brazzaville after learning that aides to Sassou-Nguesso had paid £100,000 in cash towards a September 2005 hotel bill totalling £169,000. The Congo-Brazzaville debt relief package was provided on the grounds that the Republic of Congo was too poor to meet its financial commitments. |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 10:37, 7 January 2007
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| Time in Office | 18 March 1977 – 3 April 1977 (part of the Military Committee of the Congolese Labour Party); 8 February 1979 – 3 August 1992 (first time); 25 October 1997 – | |
| Predecessor | Marien Ngouabi (as a part of the Military Committee of the CLP); Jean-Pierre Thystère Tchicaya (first time); Pascal Lissouba (second time) | |
| Successor | Joachim Yhombi-Opango (as a part of the Military Committee of the CLP); Pascal Lissouba (first time) | |
| Date of Birth | 1943 | |
| Place of Birth | Edou, Oyo District | |
Denis Sassou Nguesso (born 1943) is a general and the president of the Republic of the Congo from 1979 to 1992 and from 1997 to date.
Biography
A member of the Mbochi tribe, Sassou Nguesso was born in Edou in the Oyo district to the north of the country.
He joined the army in 1960 just before the country was granted independence. He was marked for prominence and received military training in Algeria and at Saint Maixent, France before returning to join the elite paratroop regiment.
He had socialist leanings and supported the opposition to Fulbert Youlou in Les Trois Glorieuses of August 1963. Despite this he was part of the military coup of 1968 that brought Marien Ngouabi to power and was an early member of the PCT (Parti Congolais du Travail) when it was founded in December 1969.
In 1970 Sassou Nguesso was made Director of Security and a minister in the new presidential council. When Ngouabi was assassinated Nguesso played a key role in maintaining control, briefly heading the Military Committee of the Party (CMP, Comité Militaire du Parti) that controlled the state before the succession of Colonel Joachim Yhombi-Opango. Sassou Nguesso was rewarded with a promotion to colonel and the post of vice-president of the CMP. He remained there until February 5, 1979 when Yhomby-Opango was forced from power in a technical coup accused of corruption and political deviancy. On February 8 the CMP chose Nguesso as the new president and at the Third Extraordinary Congress of the PCT his position was rubber-stamped.
Presidency
Sassou Nguesso surprised many observers who saw only a military strongman by revealing a strong commitment to Marxism as well as a streak of practical politics[citation needed]. He negotiated IMF loans and allowed foreign investors from France and the Americas to operate in the vital oil and mineral extraction operations. He also travelled to Moscow in 1981 to sign a twenty-year friendship pact with Leonid Brezhnev.
He was re-elected as president at the 1984 Congress of the PCT for a further five years and he was not slow to moderate the Marxist policies of the government as the situation demanded[citation needed]. He was president of the OAU from 1986-1987. In late 1987 he faced down a serious military revolt in the north of the country with French aid.
Following the 1989 Congress, Sassou Nguesso saw the collapse of the communist states of Eastern Europe and, under pressure from the French, began to prepare the process of bringing the country to democracy[citation needed]. In December 1989 he announced the end of government control of the economy and declared a partial amnesty for political prisoners. Into the following year he attempted to improve the failing economic situation and reduce the outrageous levels of corruption. From August 1990 political parties other than the PCT were allowed and Sassou Nguesso undertook a symbolic state visit to the United States of America, laying the grounds for a new series of conditional IMF loans later that year. In February 1991 the process towards democracy was decided and in June Sassou Nguesso stepped slightly aside and André Milongo was appointed interim president of the CSR until the scheduled elections of 1992.
1992 elections
In the elections of June-July 1992 the PCT won only 19 of 125 seats on the National Assembly, UPADS (Union panafricaine pour la démocratie sociale) was the largest party with the MCDDI (Mouvement Congolais pour la démocratie et le développement intégral) another strong force. In the presidential elections of August the contest was between Pascal Lissouba (UPADS) and Bernard Kolelas (MCDDI), Lissouba won in the second round with 61% of the vote, Sassou Nguesso was eliminated in the first round after polling only 17%.
Lissouba began his rule dogged with accusations of voting irregularities and he had to act with increasing repression to maintain his power[citation needed]. From November 1993 to the end of that year clashes between supporters of Kolelas and Lissouba left almost 1500 people dead. In 1994 Sassou Nguesso prudently left the country for Paris, not returning until 1997 in order to contend the presidential elections scheduled for July.
On June 5, 1997 Lissouba ordered the army to surround Sassou Nguesso's residence in Brazzaville. The militia of Sassou Nguesso resisted the army and a more widespread conflict began. Sassou Nguesso gained support from Angola and in October 11-14 his forces took Brazzaville and Lissouba fled. Sassou Nguesso was declared president on October 25.
Return to Presidency
Sassou Nguesso was prepared to allow a return to democracy and began a three-year transition process in 1998[citation needed], but renewed fighting with opposition groups led to the collapse of the endeavour. With the government forces in ascendency and following peace agreements in 1999 elections were re-scheduled for 2002, although not all rebel groups signed the accords. On March 10 Sassou Nguesso won with almost 90% of the vote, his two main rivals Lissouba and Kolelas were prevented from competing and the only remaining credible rival, André Milongo, advised his supporters to boycott the elections and then withdrew from the race. A new constitution was agreed in January 2002 which granted the president new powers and also extended his term to seven years as well as introducing a new bicameral assembly.
Having already served as the Chairman of the Organisation of African Unity in 1986 to 1987, he was elected Chairman of the African Union, the OAU's successor body, in January 2006.
Personal spending/Congo-Brazzaville
In January 2007, United Nations published accounts showed Sassou Nguesso personal spending habits. On one five night stay in April 2006 in New York at the Waldorf Astoria, the suite occupied Sassou-Nguesso recorded £12,000 of room service charges during a five-night stay, and a total cost of £73,000[1].
When Sassou Nguesso attended the UN general assembly meeting in September 2006, almost £14,000 of room service at the Waldorf Astoria was added to his bill during another five-night stay. His entourage, including several members of his family, occupied 44 rooms which together ran up a bill of £130,000. The bills on September 19 included two bottles of Cristal champagne charged at £400. This was pointed out by the British newspaper the Sunday Times to be: "comfortably more than the £106,000 that Britain gave the Republic of Congo in humanitarian aid in 2006."[2]
The spending was run up in the year that the World Bank, led by Paul Wolfowitz, delayed the debt relief deal known as Congo-Brazzaville after learning that aides to Sassou-Nguesso had paid £100,000 in cash towards a September 2005 hotel bill totalling £169,000. The Congo-Brazzaville debt relief package was provided on the grounds that the Republic of Congo was too poor to meet its financial commitments.