Zaire

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Republic of Zairea République du Zaïre Repubuliki ya Zaïre Jamhuri ya Zaïre
1971–1997
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: Paix – Justice – Travail[1]   "Peace – Justice – Work"
Anthem: La Zaïroise "The Song of Zaire"
Capital	Kinshasa
Common languages	French Lingala · Kongo Swahili · Tshiluba
Religion	Christianity, Baluba religion, Bantu religion
Demonym(s)	Zairian
Government	Mobutist one-party republicc[2] under a de facto military dictatorshipd
President
• 1971–1997	Mobutu Sese Seko
Historical era	Cold War
• Coup d'état	25 November 1965
• Country renamed	27 October 1971
• Mobutu overthrown	16 May 1997
• Death of Mobutu	7 September 1997
Area
1996	2,345,410 km2 (905,570 sq mi)
Population
• 1996	46498539
Currency	Zaïre
Time zone	CET / EET
Calling code	243
Internet TLD	.zr
Preceded by Succeeded by Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville) Democratic Republic of the Congo
Today part of	DR Congo
a. Renamed from "Democratic Republic of the Congo" (République démocratique du Congo) on 27 October 1971. b. Changed from "Léopoldville" in 1966. c. Zaire became a de jure one-party state on December 23, 1970,[3] but had been a de facto one-party state since May 20, 1967, the date on which the MPR (Mouvement Populaire de la Revolution) was established. Zaire formally adopted a multiparty system on April 24, 1990,[4] when Mobutu delivered a speech proclaiming the end of the one-party system. The country adopted multipartyism de jure with the passage of Law No. 90-002 of July 5, 1990, which amended its constitution accordingly.[5] d. 1990–1997.

Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire (French: République du Zaïre) was the name of a country that is now called the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It used this name from 27 November 1971 to 17 May 1997. The name "Zaire" comes from a Portuguese corruption of the Kongo word nzare, meaning "river".