Person

Mobutu Sese Seko

1930–1997 · 20th century

Mobutu Sese Seko was the ruler of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which he renamed Zaire, from 1965 to 1997. An army officer, he seized power in a coup in November 1965 and ruled as an authoritarian president backed by Western powers during the Cold War, promoting a policy of 'authenticity' while his regime became a byword for corruption. He was overthrown in 1997 by Laurent-Désiré Kabila's rebels, backed by Rwanda and Uganda, and died in exile in Morocco.

Mobutu Sese Seko
Image: Frank Hall · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Great speeches

Lumumba's Independence Day Speech30 June 1960
Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Mobutu Sese Seko. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/mobutu-sese-seko
MLA
“Mobutu Sese Seko.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/mobutu-sese-seko. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Mobutu Sese Seko.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/mobutu-sese-seko.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Mobutu Sese Seko’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/mobutu-sese-seko (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻