Joseph Kasongo

Joseph-Georges Kasongo (25 December 1919 – 19 October 1990) was a Tanganyikan-born Congolese lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the first President of the Chamber of Deputies of the Republic of the Congo (today the Democratic Republic of the Congo). He later held office as a deputy prime minister and as a senator.

Kasongo was born in 1919 in Dar es Salaam to a family with ties to the Maniema region in the Belgian Congo. Following his education he took up work in business and in the indigenous courts in Stanleyville. In the late 1950s he became a leader in Patrice Lumumba's Mouvement National Congolais (MNC) party and worked to expand its influence. In 1960 the Congo became independent and Kasongo was elected to the Chamber of Deputies, shortly thereafter becoming its president. Lumumba became Prime Minister, but later that year he was removed from office as the country became embroiled in a political crisis. Parliament was also adjourned. Kasongo remained loyal to Lumumba and demanded that Parliament reconvene. In July 1961 he was reelected President of the Chamber, serving in the post until March 1962. The following year he became Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Coordination under the leadership of Cyrille Adoula, but was then ejected from the MNC. Kasongo formed a splinter group from the party and in 1966 he became a member of the Senate. He died in 1990 while trying to reestablish the MNC. Provided by Wikipedia