Kabila, Joseph (1969– )

Congolese soldier and politician, president of the Democratic Republic of Congo from 2001. The son of Laurent Kabila, he became president following his father's assassination in January 2001. He was made a major general and head of the army after accompanying his father's rebel army to the capital, Kinshasa, in 1997. As president, he worked with the United Nations (UN) to bring peace to the Democratic Republic of Congo, seeking to disarm rebel militia and secure the withdrawal of Rwandan, Ugandan, and Burundian troops. A peace agreement was signed in South Africa in 2002 and an interim administration set up, including the leaders of the two main rebel groups as vice-presidents. He withstood two attempted coups in 2004 and sought to promote economic liberalization and political pluralism. A new constitution was approved in a December 2005 referendum and he won direct presidential elections, held in October 2006.

Born in South Kivu province, in the east of the country, the eldest of his father's children, he was educated in Tanzania and Uganda. He trained as a soldier locally and in China, and showed little interest in politics before becoming president. As president he faced opposition from rebels, having spent recent years fighting against Rwandan- and Ugandan-backed guerrillas in the east who had attempted to oust his father from power.