List of presidents of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

This is the list of the Heads of State of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) since independence in 1960. The current head of state is President Joseph Kabila, since 17 January 2001.

Heads of State of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (1960–present)

(Dates in italics indicate de facto continuation of office)

Republic of the Congo (1960–1964)
№		Name		Birth–Death	Took office	Left office	Political Party
Presidents
	1	Joseph Kasa-Vubu		1910–1969	1 July 1960	1 August 1964	ABAKO
	—	Antoine Gizenga (disputed)^[1]		1925–	31 March 1961	5 August 1961	Congolese National Movement (Lumumba)
Democratic Republic of the Congo (1964–1971)
Presidents
	(1)	Joseph Kasa-Vubu		1910–1969	1 August 1964	24 November 1965^[2]	ABAKO
	2	Joseph-Désiré Mobutu		1930–1997	24 November 1965	27 October 1971	Military / Popular Movement of the Revolution
Republic of Zaire (1971–1997)
President
	(2)	Mobutu Sese Seko^[3]		1930–1997	27 October 1971	16 May 1997^[4]	Popular Movement of the Revolution
Democratic Republic of the Congo (1997–present)
Presidents
	3	Laurent-Désiré Kabila	File:Laurent-Désiré Kabila cropped.jpg	1939–2001	17 May 1997	16 January 2001^[5]	Independent
	4	Joseph Kabila		1971–	26 January 2001 Acting since 17 January 2001	Incumbent	Independent / People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy

^ Rebel government at Stanleyville, during the Congo Crisis
^ Deposed in the 1965 coup d'état
^ Previously named Joseph-Désiré Mobutu; changed name on 10 January 1972 due to the policy of Zairianisation
^ Deposed in the First Congo War
^ Assassinated

v t e President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (list)
Republic of the Congo (1960–1971)	Joseph Kasa-Vubu Joseph Mobutu
Republic of Zaire (1971–1997)	Joseph Mobutu/Mobutu Sese Seko
Democratic Republic of the Congo (1997–present)	Laurent-Désiré Kabila Joseph Kabila Félix Tshisekedi