Sylvestre Ilunga facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sylvestre Ilunga
Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
In office 7 September 2019 – 26 April 2021
President	Félix Tshisekedi
Preceded by	Bruno Tshibala
Succeeded by	Sama Lukonde
Personal details
Born	1947 (age 77–78) Katanga Province, Belgian Congo (now Haut-Katanga Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Alma mater	Lovanium University

Sylvestre Ilunga Ilunkamba, born in 1947, is a politician from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He served as the Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 2019 to 2021. Before becoming Prime Minister, he had a long career in government. He was also a professor at the University of Kinshasa and led Congo's national railway company. People knew him as an experienced public servant and a skilled expert in his field. He was also a supporter of former president Joseph Kabila.

Sylvestre Ilunga's Early Life and Career

Sylvestre Ilunga was born in 1947 in the Katanga Province. This area is now called Haut-Katanga Province. He belongs to the Luba ethnic group.

Becoming a Professor and Politician

Ilunga worked as an economics professor at the University of Kinshasa starting in 1979. He began his political journey in 1970. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, he held several important government jobs. These included Minister of Planning in 1990 and Minister of Finance from 1990 to 1991. These roles were during the time of President Mobutu Sese Seko.

After the Mobutu government ended, Ilunga left the country in 1993. He started a mining company in South Africa. He returned to the Democratic Republic of the Congo about ten years later. From the 1990s, he mostly stayed out of politics. However, in 2014, he was chosen to lead the SNCC. This is the national railway company of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He also advised young President Joseph Kabila on economic matters. He helped put into action some important economic changes.

Becoming Prime Minister

On May 20, 2019, when he was 72 years old, Sylvestre Ilunga was chosen as the Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This decision was made after talks between President Félix Tshisekedi and a group of political parties. This group, called the Common Front for Congo, was allied with former President Joseph Kabila.

Forming a New Government

After the 2018 election, President Tshisekedi had been talking with the Kabila-allied parties. They needed to agree on a Prime Minister because those parties had won most seats in the parliament. Other people were considered for the job, but President Tshisekedi did not choose them. Two members of the Constitutional Court and a former head of the Central Bank suggested Ilunga.

President Tshisekedi and the parliament agreed to form a new government on July 27, 2019. This was more than six months after the 2018 election. This agreement officially made Ilunga the Prime Minister. His new government had 65 members. This included 48 ministers and 17 vice-ministers. Most of these positions, 42, went to the Common Front for Congo. The remaining 23 positions went to President Tshisekedi's group, called Heading for Change.

There were some delays in forming the government. This was because Kabila and Tshisekedi had to agree on who would control six very important government departments. These were Finance, Defense, Budget, Justice, Interior, and Foreign Affairs. The new government officially started its work in late August 2019.

End of His Term

On January 28, 2021, the National Assembly voted that they no longer had confidence in Ilunga's government. This vote meant his government had to resign. The pro-Kabila parties did not take part in this vote. This event happened after the Assembly speaker was removed from his position in December 2020.

See also

In Spanish: Sylvestre Ilunga Ilukamba para niños