Assassination of Patrice Lumumba

Date: January 17, 1961 • Location: Masina, Congo, the Democratic Republic of the

Patrice Lumumba, a former prime minister of Congo-Léopoldville, was murdered in circumstances suggesting the support and complicity of the Belgian and US governments.

Patrice Émery Lumumba was a Congolese politician, independence leader, and revolutionary who served as the first prime minister of the First Congolese Republic from June until September 1960, following his party's success in the May 1960 election. Lumumba was the leader of the Congolese National Movement (MNC) from 1958 until his assassination in 1961. Ideologically an African nationalist and pan-Africanist, he played a significant role in the transformation of the Congo from a colony of Belgium into an independent republic.