Zaire
country in Africa now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo
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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".
Republic of Zairea République du Zaïre Repubuliki ya Zaïre Jamhuri ya Zaïre | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971–1997 | |||||||||
.svg) Coat of arms
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| Motto: Paix – Justice – Travail[1] "Peace – Justice – Work" | |||||||||
| Anthem: La Zaïroise "The Song of Zaire" | |||||||||
.svg) | |||||||||
| 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 | ||||||||
| 25 November 1965 | |||||||||
• Country renamed | 27 October 1971 | ||||||||
| 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 | ||||||||
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| 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. | |||||||||
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References
change- ↑ Constitution de la République du Zaïre, article 5: "Sa devise est : Paix — Justice — Travail". Source: Journal Officiel de la République du Zaïre (N. 1 du 1er janvier 1983)
- ↑ Thomas Turner, "Flying High Above the Toads: Mobutu and Stalemated Democracy", in Political Reform in Francophone Africa (1997), ed. John F. Clark and David E. Gardinier, page 70.
- ↑ Kaplan, Irving (ed.). Zaire: A Country Study. Third Edition, First Printing. 1979.
- ↑ Sandra W. Meditz and Tim Merrill (eds.). Zaire: A Country Study. Fourth Edition. 1993.
- ↑ Complete text of the Zairian constitution after the enactment of Law No. 90-002 of July 5, 1990 concerning the modification of certain provisions of the Constitution
