Michel Micombero

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Michel Micombero (1940–July 16, 1983) was the President of Burundi from November 28, 1966 to November 1, 1976.

In the years after independence Burundi had seen a rapid decent into anarchy. The king Mwambutsa IV rapidly changed the Prime Minister as anti-Tutsi forces threatened to unleash the same violence as had hit Rwanda. On October 18, 1965, Hutu leader Gervais Nyangoma launched a coup, ousting the king. Soon afterward the largely Hutu police force, under the control of Antoine Serkwavu, began to massacre Tutsis in some parts of the country.

Michel Micombero was a young Tutsi army captain who had been born in Rutovu. In 1965 he had only recently returned from school in Belgium and had quickly risen to become Secretary of Defence. He rallied the army, and its largely Tutsi officers, against the coup and overthrew them. This was followed by numerous attacks on Hutus throughout the nation.

Micombero became Prime Minister on July 11, 1966 and was the real power in the nation technically ruled by King Ntare V. Soon afterward, on November 28, 1966, Micombero overthrew the monarchy and made himself President.

As President, Micombero became an advocate of African socialism and received support from China. He imposed a staunch regime of law and order, sharply repressing Hutu militarism.

In 1972 Hutu refugees from surrounding nations organized an uprising of Hutus in Burundi. This was repulsed and was followed by organized ethnic violence that killed some 150,000 Hutus. Micombero unquestionably played a leading role in this genocide. After this event Micombero became increasingly corrupt, and also turned to heavy drinking. Some reports allege he became delusional. He was overthrown four years later in a coup by Deputy Chief of Staff Jean-Baptiste Bagaza, a distant cousin of Micombero from the same clan and political faction.

Micombero went into exile in Somalia, where he died of a heart attack in 1983.