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Zaire, [c] officially the Republic of Zaire, [d] was the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1971 to 18 May 1997. Located in Central Africa, it was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa after Sudan and Algeria, and the 11th-largest country in the world from 1965 to 1997.
It occupies 40,130 square kilometres (15,490 sq mi) in the north west of the country and had a population of 594,428 inhabitants in 2014. [1] It is bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean , on the north by the Democratic Republic of Congo , on the east by the Uíge Province , and on the south by the Bengo Province .
[23] [24] [25] The river was known as Zaire during the 16th and 17th centuries; Congo seems to have replaced Zaire gradually in English usage during the 18th century, and Congo is the preferred English name in 19th-century literature, although references to Zaire as the name used by the natives (i.e., derived from Portuguese usage) remained ...
Republic of Zaire (1971–1997) (2) Mobutu Sese Seko (1930–1997) [a] 1977 1984: 27 October 1971 [2] 16 May 1997 (Deposed in a civil war) [3] 25 years, 201 days MPR: Democratic Republic of the Congo (1997–present) 3: Laurent-Désiré Kabila (1939–2001) — 17 May 1997 16 January 2001 (Assassinated) 3 years, 244 days Independent
Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa za Banga [a] (/ m ə ˈ b uː t uː ˈ s ɛ s eɪ ˈ s ɛ k oʊ / ⓘ mə-BOO-too SESS-ay SEK-oh; born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu; 14 October 1930 – 7 September 1997), often shortened to Mobutu Sese Seko or Mobutu and also known by his initials MSS, was a Congolese politician and military officer who was the first and only president of Zaire from 1971 to 1997.
He began consolidating his power through far-reaching and repressive measures. The role of provinces was curtailed, their number was reduced, which led to a highly centralised state. The country was renamed the Republic of Zaire, and the 1974 constitution, replacing the 1967 constitution, codified the authoritarian state. It strongly curtailed ...
The Congo River, [a] formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second-longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the third-largest river in the world by discharge volume, following the Amazon and Ganges rivers. It is the world's deepest recorded river, with measured depths of around 220 m (720 ft). [10]
The Constitution of Zaire (French: Constitution du Zaïre), was promulgated on 15 August 1974, revised on 15 February 1978, and amended on 5 July 1990. It provided a renewed legal basis for the regime of Mobutu Sese Seko who had emerged as the country's dictator after the Congo Crisis in 1965.