André Milongo

André Ntsatouabantou Milongo (20 October 1935 – 23 July 2007) was a Congolese politician who served as Prime Minister of the Republic of the Congo from June 1991 to August 1992. He was chosen by the 1991 National Conference to lead the country during its transition to multiparty elections, which were held in 1992. He was also the founder and President of the Union for Democracy and the Republic (UDR-Mwinda), a political party. From 1993 to 1997, he was President of the National Assembly, and he was again a deputy in the National Assembly from 2002 to 2007.

Early life and political career

A member of the Lari ethnic group, Milongo, one of four children in his family, was born in October 1935 in Mankondi, a village located to the south-west of the capital Brazzaville, in the Boko District of Pool Region.

Milongo's government was dominated by members of the Lari and Bakongo ethnic groups. Tensions between the government and the army led to a serious crisis in January 1992. It was alleged that, in order to gain control of the army, members of Milongo's government spread rumors that the army was plotting a coup. He made further changes to the military command, which he said were intended to fight tribalism, The army strongly opposed these changes and demanded that Milongo reverse them. Gangouo then resigned from his position and Milongo appointed a new Minister of Defense who was supported by the army; however, he also placed himself in supreme command of the army. Milongo in a private conversation with French President Jacques Chirac. Municipal elections were held on 3 May 1992, and Milongo's government was widely criticized for its handling of these elections. He received his strongest support in Brazzaville and Pool Region, with 21.6% and 16.5% respectively.

Milongo founded a political party, the Union for Democracy and the Republic (UDR-Mwinda: Union pour la Démocratie et la République; Mwinda means light in the Lari language), which he headed for the rest of his life. In the 1993 parliamentary election, he was elected to the National Assembly becoming one of two UDR deputies in the National Assembly. On 22 June 1993, Milongo was elected as the President of the National Assembly, remaining in that position until 1997. a grouping of parties that supported him. Milongo accused the government of fraud in the January 2002 constitutional referendum, claiming that the "No" vote had actually won, and said that if he won the presidential election, he would initiate a "new political order" with a peace pact to end political violence and would allow all exiled politicians to return. In the May 2002 parliamentary election, Milongo was elected to the National Assembly as the UDR-Mwinda's candidate in Boko constituency; he won the seat in the first round with 59.65% of the vote. In the National Assembly, he became President of the UDR-Mwinda Parliamentary Group on 24 August 2002.

In addition to heading the UDR-Mwinda, Milongo was the chairman of a coalition of 11 political parties (Front pour une Commission Electorale independante), an assembly of political parties calling for transparency and independence in the management of all future elections.

Milongo ran for re-election to the National Assembly in the 2007 parliamentary election, but was defeated in the first round, held on 24 June. Following an illness, he died in a hospital in Paris on 23 July 2007, aged 71. In a statement on 24 July, Sassou Nguesso described Milongo's death as "a great loss for the Congolese nation" and praised Milongo for his service as Prime Minister from 1991 to 1992. Milongo was laid in state at the Parliament building, where politicians paid tribute to him and Sassou Nguesso bestowed a posthumous high honor on him, before being buried at his residence on 20 August.