President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (French: Président de la République démocratique du Congo, Swahili: Rais wa Jamhuri ya Kidemokrasia ya Kongo, Lingala: Mokonzi wa Republíki ya Kongó Demokratíki), is the head of state of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Presidential Standard
Incumbent Félix Tshisekedi since 25 January 2019
Residence	Palais de la Nation, Kinshasa
Term length	5 years, renewable once
Inaugural holder	Joseph Kasavubu
Formation	30 June 1960
Salary	51,500 USD annually[1]
Website	Official website of the President of the DRC

The constitutional mandate of the current president, Joseph Kabila, was due to expire on 20 December 2016 but was extended by him until the end of 2017.^[2] He was replaced by Félix Tshisekedi in 2019.

Article 72 of the Congolese constitution states that the President must be a natural-born citizen – or more accurately: French: citoyen d'origine – of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and at least 30 years of age. Additionally, the President must be free of any legal constraints on their civil and political rights.

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)
No.		Name		Lifespan	Elected	Took office	Left office	Political party
Presidents
	1	Joseph Kasa-Vubu		1890–1969	—	1 July 1960	1 August 1964	ABAKO
	—	Antoine Gizenga (disputed)[a]		1916–2019	—	31 March 1961	5 August 1961	Parti Solidaire Africain (Gizenga faction)
Democratic Republic of the Congo (1964–1971)
Presidents
	(1)	Joseph Kasa-Vubu		1890–1969	—	1 August 1964	24 November 1965[b]	ABAKO
	2	Joseph-Désiré Mobutu		1917–1997	1970	24 November 1965	27 October 1971	Military / Popular Movement of the Revolution
Republic of Zaire (1971–1997)
President
	(2)	Mobutu Sese Seko[c]		19317–1997	1977 1984	27 October 1971	16 May 1997[d]	Popular Movement of the Revolution
Democratic Republic of the Congo (1997–present)
Presidents
	3	Laurent-Désiré Kabila		1927–2001	—	17 May 1997	16 January 2001 (assassinated)	Independent
	4	Joseph Kabila		1960–	2006 2011	26 January 2001 Acting since 17 January 2001	24 January 2019	Independent / People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy
	5	Félix Tshisekedi		1954–	2018	24 January 2019	Incumbent	Union for Democracy and Social Progress

Timeline

Timeline

Notes

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