Ekila Liyonda

Adrienne Ekila Liyonda (16 October 1948 – 23 June 2006) was a Zairean (now DRC) politician who served as ambassador to Belgium and was the country's first female Foreign minister.

Early life and education Liyonda was born on 16 October 1948 in Leopoldville (now Kinshasa). She attended secondary school at the Lycée Sainte Marie-Theerèse before graduating from the Catholic University of Louvain with a Bachelor of Laws in 1974.

Liyonda was appointed Ambassador to Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg in 1985. making her the country's first female foreign affairs minister. In this role she was a signatory to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights. In 1988 she became Minister of Information and Press serving until 1990.

Liyonda died in Brussels on 23 June 2006. She was buried in the Gombe cemetery.