List of presidents of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Facts for Kids

"President of Zaire" redirects here. For the only president while the country was named Zaire, see Mobutu Sese Seko.

This is a list of presidents of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly the Republic of the Congo and Zaire) since the country's independence in 1960.

The current President is Félix Tshisekedi, since 24 January 2019.

List of officeholders

(Dates in italics indicate de facto continuation of office)

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Elected	Term of office			Political party
No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Elected	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Political party
Republic of the Congo (1960–1971)
1		Joseph Kasa-Vubu (1910–1969)	1960	1 July 1960	24 November 1965 (deposed)	5 years, 146 days	ABAKO
2		Joseph-Désiré Mobutu (1930–1997)	1970	24 November 1965	27 October 1971	5 years, 337 days	Military / Popular Movement of the Revolution
Republic of Zaire (1971–1997)
(2)		Mobutu Sese Seko (1930–1997)	1977 1984	27 October 1971	16 May 1997 (deposed)	25 years, 201 days	Popular Movement of the Revolution
Democratic Republic of the Congo (1997–present)
3		Laurent-Désiré Kabila (1939–2001)	—	17 May 1997	16 January 2001 (assassinated)	3 years, 244 days	Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo / Independent
—		Joseph Kabila (born 1971)	—	17 January 2001	26 January 2001	9 days	Independent / People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy
4		Joseph Kabila (born 1971)	2006 2011	26 January 2001	24 January 2019	18 years, 7 days
5		Félix Tshisekedi (born 1963)	2018 2023	24 January 2019	Incumbent	5 years, 285 days	Union for Democracy and Social Progress