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In Pictures: From 1960 to 2020, DRC’s post-independence history

After decades of brutal colonial rule, the Democratic Republic of the Congo declared its independence on June 30, 1960.

Patrice Lumumba, the Prime Minister of the Congo, signs the act of independence of the Congo in Leopoldville, Congo on June 30, 1960. At right is Gaston Eyskens, Prime Minister of Belgium, who signed
The country gained independence from Belgium on June 30, 1960, with Patrice Lumumba, left, as prime minister and Joseph Kasavubu as president. [Jean-Jacques Levy/AP Photo]
Published On 30 Jun 2020

Tuesday marks the 60th anniversary of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) independence from Belgium.

After decades of brutal colonial rule, the vast, resource-rich country declared its independence from the European nation on June 30, 1960.

This gallery shows some of the key moments in the DRC’s history over the past 60 years.

Dag Hammarskjold, right, U.N. secretary-general, and Katanga Premier Moise Tshombe, center, are shown standing at attention before he Katanga flag at Elisabethville Airport following Hammarskjold''s ar
On July 11, 1960, the southern Katanga province, the country's richest, declares itself independent under the leadership of Moise Tshombe, a pro-Belgium leader. The Congolese government appeals to the UN for security assistance and to help remove Belgian soldiers, ostensibly sent in to protect the European country's nationals. The UN votes to send troops but, initially, they are not allowed to intervene. The secessionist movement is eventually defeated in early 1963. Here, UN chief Dag Hammarskjold, right, and Tshombe, centre, are standing at attention before the Katanga flag at Elisabethville Airport following Hammarskjold's arrival on August 12, 1960. [AP Photo]
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Here is an attitude of Colonel Joseph Mobutu who took over power at Leopoldville this week, pictured at the press conference he gave at Leopoldville, Congo, Sept. 16, 1960. (AP Photo/Babout)
Amid political infighting between Kasavubu and Lumumba, army Chief of Staff Joseph Mobutu seizes power in a coup on September 14, 1960. He reaches a working agreement with Kasavubu who is eventually restored as president. [Babout/AP Photo]
Soldiers guard Patrice Lumumba (R), Prime Minister of then Congo-Kinshasa, and Joseph Okito (L), vice-president of the Senate, upon their arrest in December 1960 in Leopoldville (now Kinshasa). Lumum
Lumumba, right, is arrested and delivered to the Katanga secessionists and their Belgian advisers. On January 17, 1961, Lumumba and two associates, Joseph Okito, left, and Maurice Mpolo, were flown to Elisabethville (now Lubumbashi) where they were executed by firing squad. A Belgian parliamentary inquiry concluded in 2001 that Belgium had a "moral responsibility" in Lumumba's assassination and the government apologised to its former colony, but no legal action was taken afterwards. [AFP]
(FILES) File picture dated 26 November 1965 of former Zairean president Mobutu Sese Seko, at that time Lt. General and Congolese army chief, talking to reporters in Leopoldville after ousting presiden
In late November 1965, Joseph Mobutu consolidated power in a second coup, overthrowing Kasavubu and proclaiming himself head of state. In 1971, Mobutu renamed the country Zaire as part of an "authenticity" campaign to emphasise its cultural identity. He also renames himself Mobutu Sese Seko. He sides with the US during the Cold War and receives significant financial assistance. He remained president for 32 years, a period marked by authoritarianism and brutality, as well as theft and corruption on an unprecedented scale. [Belga/AFP]
Muhammed Ali watches George Foreman head for the canvas after being knocked out in the eighth round of thier match in Kinshasa, Zaire, Oct. 30, 1974. (AP Photo)
US boxers Muhammad Ali, right, and George Foreman fight the "Rumble in the Jungle", seen as the most famous match in boxing history, on October 30, 1974, before some 60,000 fans in the capital, Kinshasa. Ali won the fight by knockout in the eighth round. [AP Photo]
A column of Zairian rebels are cheered as they arrive in Kinshasa Saturday May 17, 1997. One day after Zairian President Mobutu Sese Seko fled the capital city, the rebel alliance marched into Kinshas
In 1990, Mobutu Sese Seko promised an end to one-party rule among other reforms but acted on few of his promises. Zaire over the next few years sank into chaos, leading to his overthrow in 1997 when the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (AFDL), supported by Rwandan and Ugandan forces, captured the capital Kinshasa, on May 17, 1997. AFDL leader Laurent-Desire Kabila becomes president and Zaire is renamed the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mobutu Sese Seko, who has fled to Morocco, dies from cancer on September 7, 1997, in Rabbat. One year later, the Second Congo War erupts, a multinational conflict that lasted until 2003 and killed an estimated five million people. [David Guttenfelder/AP Photo]
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Congo''s captain Ekanza Simba (L) challenges Cameroon''s Pierre Nlend Wome during the first quarter-final of the African Nations Cup February 20. Congo beat Cameroon 1-0. SPORT SOCCER
The country's national football team has won the African Cup of Nations twice, in 1968 and 1974. It has also finished third twice, in 1998 (pictured) and 2015. [Reuters]
Zimbabwe Army soldiers carry the coffin of slain Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) President Laurent Kabila to an aircraft January 20, 2001. Kabila''s body which was flown to Zimbabwe after he was
In January 2001, Kabila was shot dead by a bodyguard at the presidential palace in Kinshasa. [Reuters]
Newly installed Congolese leader Joseph Kabila, is escorted by military officers, as he arrives at Ndjili International Airport to receive the casket containing the boby of his father Laurent Kabila i
Days later, Laurent Kabila becomes the world's youngest president as he succeeds his assassinated father at age 29. Kabila went on to rule the country until last year, leaving behind a fragile economy and multiple protracted armed conflicts that have forced millions to flee their homes. [Themba Hadebe/AP Photo]
Judge Kalele Kalonda (R) of the Supreme Court reads out a statement rejecting the allegations of fraud made by Jean-Pierre Bemba, 27 November 2006, in Kinshasa. The court confirmed Joseph Kabila as th
Kabila was declared the winner of elections in 2006 and 2011, but both polls were marred by violence and opposition allegations of widespread fraud. Here, Supreme Court Justice Kalele Kalonda, right, reads out a statement rejecting allegations of fraud made by runner-up Jean-Pierre Bemba on November 27, 2006. [Lionel Healing/AFP]
Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi receives the presidential sash from outgoing president Joseph Kabila after being sworn in in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Thursday Jan. 24, 2019.
Kabila was due to step down in 2016 at the end of his constitutional mandate. But the election to replace him was repeatedly delayed, igniting protests in which dozens were killed. On January 24, 2019, the country experienced its first peaceful transfer of power after Felix Tshisekedi was declared the winner of a December 30, 2018 vote despite concerns about voting irregularities. [Jerome Delay/AP Photo]
A healthcare worker sprays a room during a funeral of Kavugho Cindi Dorcas who is suspected of dying of Ebola in Beni, North Kivu Province of Democratic Republic of Congo, December 9, 2018. REUTERS/Go
The country has suffered 11 Ebola outbreaks since the virus was identified near the Ebola River in 1976, more than double any other country. Earlier this week, it said its second-largest Ebola outbreak on record was over after nearly two years and more than 2,200 deaths. [Goran Tomasevic/Reuters]