#555 | Mobutu Sese Seko | The King of the Kleptocrats

<p><strong> </strong></p><br><p>Meet Mobutu Sese Seko, the man who rose from a lowly army officer to become the autocratic ruler of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. </p> <br> <p>Wearing his signature leopard-skin hat, Mobutu rebranded the country as Zaire and himself as a symbol of African pride. </p> <br> <p>Despite his charismatic persona and lavish lifestyle, his regime left the country impoverished, highlighting the dangers of unchecked power and corruption.</p> <br> <ul> <li>Mobutu Sese Seko's rise to power in Congo </li> <li>Congo's harsh colonial history under Belgian rule </li> <li>Mobutu's involvement in Patrice Lumumba's downfall </li> <li>Mobutu's 1965 coup and 32-year rule </li> <li>Renaming Congo to Zaire and introducing the Authenticité movement </li> <li>Mobutu's repressive regime and personality cult </li> <li>Corruption and Mobutu's embezzlement of state funds </li> <li>Economic decline and dependency on foreign aid </li> <li>Mobutu's fall from power and ...