Joseph Iléo

Joseph Iléo (15 September 1921 – 19 September 1994), subsequently Zairianised as Sombo Amba Iléo,^[1] was a Congolese politician and was prime minister for two periods.

Joseph Iléo
Iléo in 1960
2nd Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
In office 5 September 1960 – 20 September 1960
President	Joseph Kasa-Vubu
Preceded by	Patrice Lumumba
Succeeded by	Justin Marie Bomboko (as Chairman of the Board of Commissioners-General)
In office 9 February 1961 – 2 August 1961
President	Joseph Kasa-Vubu
Preceded by	Justin Marie Bomboko (as Chairman of the Board of Commissioners-General)
Succeeded by	Cyrille Adoula
President of the Senate of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
In office 22 June 1960 – 5 September 1960
Deputy	Jacques Masangu (First Vice-President) Joseph Okito (Second Vice-President)
Succeeded by	Victor Koumorico
Personal details
Born	15 September 1921 Léopoldville, Belgian Congo (Now Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Died	19 September 1994(1994-09-19) (aged 73) Brussels, Belgium
Political party	Mouvement National Congolais Parti Démocrate Social Chrétien (1990–1994)

Early life

Joseph Iléo was born on 15 September 1921.^[2] In 1956, he was one of the authors of Manifeste de la Conscience Africaine, which demanded the right of Africans to self-rule.

In 1958, he was one of the founders of the Mouvement National Congolais (MNC). Whereas Patrice Lumumba represented the more revolutionary wing of the MNC, calling for both political and socio-economic independence, Iléo was closer to Congolese comprador elites who sought to eliminate discriminatory obstacles within an otherwise "neocolonial" status quo.^[3] When the movement split a year later, he joined the camp led by Albert Kalonji.^[4]

Career

Joseph Iléo at a later age

Iléo was voted into the Senate and then voted its president in June 1960. Upon the dismissal of then-prime minister Lumumba, Iléo was declared prime minister by Congolese president, Joseph Kasa-Vubu, on 5 September 1960. He held the post until 20 September 1960.^[5]

Under Kasa-Vubu's successor, Justin Marie Bomboko, Ileo served as Minister of Information. He was again declared prime minister on 9 February 1961. He remained in this post until 2 August 1961.

From March to December 1979 Iléo served as President of the National Assembly.^[2]

Later life

In April 1990, he founded the Parti Démocrate Social Chrétien, serving as chairman of the party until his death. He died on 19 September 1994, aged 73.^[2]