Zaire Renamed DRC

Date: May 17, 1997 • Location: Kinshasa, Congo, the Democratic Republic of the

Troops of Laurent-Désiré Kabila march into Kinshasa. Zaire is officially renamed Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Laurent-Désiré Kabila, usually known as Laurent Kabila or Kabila the Father, was a Congolese rebel and politician who served as the third president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1997 until his assassination in 2001.