Alphonse Ilunga

Alphonse Ilunga or Ilunga Dibwe Luakamanyabo (born 25 December 1931) is a Congolese politician.

Alphonse Ilunga
Minister of Public Works of the Republic of the Congo
In office
24 June 1960 – 12 September 1960
PresidentJoseph Kasa-Vubu
Prime MinisterPatrice Lumumba
In office
9 February 1961 – July 1962
Prime MinisterJoseph Iléo
Cyrille Adoula
Minister of Art, Culture, and Sports of the Republic of the Congo
In office
12 September 1960 – 20 September 1960
Prime MinisterJoseph Iléo
Personal details
Born25 December 1931
Tshikapa, Kasai, Belgian Congo

Biography

Alphonse Ilunga was born on 25 December 1931[1] in Tshikapa, Kasai, Belgian Congo[2] into the Katawa clan of the Lulua.[3] He later worked as a clerk for the Kasai Brewery.[2] In 1958 he was elected to the Ndesha communal council and then subsequently appointed to the Luluabourg city council.[4] His familial relations to the customary chief Kalamba Mangole contributed to his political success.[3] He participated in the Belgo-Congolese Round Table Conference from January to February 1960 as a delegate for the Parti National du Progrès.[4]

Ilunga served as the first Congolese Minister of Public Works under Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba. Following the dismissal of the Lumumba Government in September, he was made Minister of Art, Culture, and Sports under Joseph Iléo. In February 1961 he returned to his position as Minister of Public Works.[5] Ilunga retained the office under Prime Minister Cyrille Adoula until July 1962 when Adoula reshuffled his government and made him Minister of Communications and Transport.[6] In June 1964 he was elected to the steering committee of the press and propaganda arm of the Rassemblement des démocrates congolaise (RADECO). His service in the government ended on 9 July. In 1965 he was elected to the Senate.[4] Following Joseph-Désiré Mobutu's seizure of power later that year, Ilunga was able to retain government positions due to the influence of Kalamba and his uncle Bakole wa Ilunga, Archbishop of Kananga.[3] He reprised his role as Minister of Public Works on 16 August 1968, serving until 31 July 1969. In 1970 he was elected to the National Assembly.[4]

Citations
  1. Mulumba & Makombo 1986, p. 117.
  2. Ganshof Van Der Meersch 1960, p. 70.
  3. Matsanza 2010, p. 129.
  4. Mulumba & Makombo 1986, p. 118.
  5. CRISP no. 120 1961, paragraph 95.
  6. Young 1965, p. 346.

References
  • Ganshof Van Der Meersch, Walter Jean (1960). Congo, mai-juin 1960 (in French). Brussels: Ministry of African Affairs, Belgium. OCLC 716628096.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Matsanza, Guy Aundu (2010). État et partis au Congo-Kinshasa: l'ethnicité pour légitimité (in French). L'Harmattan. ISBN 9782296096585.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Mulumba, Mabi; Makombo, Mutamba (1986). Cadres et dirigeants au Zaïre, qui sont-ils?: dictionnaire biographique (in French). Kinshasa: Editions du Centre de recherches pédagogiques. OCLC 462124213.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • "Onze mois de crise politique au Congo". Courrier hebdomadaire du CRISP (in French). Brussels: Centre de recherche et d'information socio-politiques (120): 1–24. 1961. doi:10.3917/cris.120.0001.
  • Young, Crawford (1965). Politics in the Congo: Decolonization and Independence. Princeton: Princeton University Press. OCLC 307971.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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