Thomas Kanza
| Thomas Rudolphe Kanza | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Congo-Léopoldville Minister Delegate to the United Nations | |
|
In office 24 June 1960 – 22 November 1960 | |
| President | Joseph Kasa-Vubu |
| Preceded by | position established |
| Succeeded by | Justin Bomboko |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
10 October 1933 Léopoldville, Belgian Congo |
| Died |
25 October 2004 London, United Kingdom |
| Political party | ABAKO-Kanza |
| Alma mater |
Université catholique de Louvain Harvard University |
Thomas Rudolphe Kanza (10 October 1933 – 25 October 2004) was a politician, diplomat, and one of the first Congolese nationals to graduate from a university. From 1960–1962 he served as the Republic of the Congo's first ambassador to the United Nations and from 1962–1964 was a delegate to the United Kingdom. His opposition to the governments of Moïse Tshombe and Joseph-Désiré Mobutu led him to first rebel and ultimately flee the Congo. He returned in 1983 and resumed politics, showing favor for Mobutu. From Mobutu's ousting in 1997 until his own death, Kanza served in diplomatic roles for the Congo.
Early life
Thomas Kanza was born on 10 October 1933 in Léopoldville, Belgian Congo.[1] He was the son of Daniel Kanza, who would emerge in the 1950s as a leader of the ABAKO party.[2] He was the very first Congolese national to receive a college education in an area other than theology, studying at the Université catholique de Louvain from 1952–1956[3] and earning a degree in economics.[4] Even after he graduated, he served as the vice-chairman of the Association of Congolese Students in Belgium and managed its public relations.[5] He then spent a year at Harvard University in the United States before subsequently taking a position with the European Economic Community in Brussels.[4] He met future prime minister Patrice Lumumba in 1955,[6] whom he would eventually become friends with.[7] Kanza was a member of the Union des Interets Sociaux Congolais (UNISCO), a Léopoldville-based cultural society for leaders of elite Congolese associations.[8]
On 30 March 1957, Kanza and two of his brothers founded the weekly publication La Congo in Léopoldville, the first newspaper to be owned and managed by Congolese.[9]
When plans for a Congolese Round Table Conference on the future of the Belgian Congo were announced in late 1959, Kanza took up a position as a liaison between the various participating parties. He also formally invited the popular Congolese bands Le Grand Kallé et l'African Jazz and OK Jazz to come perform at the talks.[2] Following his father's break with ABAKO leadership during the conference, Kanza helped his family lead a splinter wing of the party.[4] Unlike his contemporaries, Kanza envisioned a much longer transition period from the Belgian colonial administration to Congolese independence, and didn't advocate for the latter until it was declared.[10]
Political career
Following independence on 30 June 1960, Kanza left his old job in Belgium and was appointed by Lumumba to be the newly created Republic of the Congo's Minister Delegate (de facto ambassador) to the United Nations.[11] In mid-September Lumumba was removed from power by Colonel Joseph Mobutu and placed under arrest. Kanza approached Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev and Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko for help, but was informed that there was little they could do. He then appealed to United States President-elect John F. Kennedy through Eleanor Roosevelt, asking that he intervene to protect Lumumba. Kennedy responded that the handling of prisoners was a United Nations matter. Lumumba was eventually executed on 17 January 1961.[12]
Meanwhile, Lumumba's absence had created a dilemma surrounding the authority of his delegation at the United Nations, which was led by Kanza. On 8 November 1960 President Joseph Kasa-Vubu proposed his own delegation, leading to a dispute in the General Assembly. On 22 November 1960 the Assembly voted to recognize Kasa-Vubu's delegation, thereby subverting Kanza.[13] He then served as the representative for Antoine Gizenga's brief rival government based in Stanleyville.[14]
In 1962 Kanza, having rejoined the central government, was transferred to be chargé d'affaires of the United Kingdom embassy. In 1964, he was recalled to the Congo. He soon entered a dispute with the new prime minister, Moïse Tshombe, and joined Pierre Mulele's rebel group. Following its defeat and Mobutu's definitive seizure of power in 1965, Kanza fled to Europe. He shortly thereafter moved to the United States and in the same year published a largely autobiographical novel, Sans rancune.[15] In 1972 he published a memoir on Lumumba, entitled, The Rise and Fall of Patrice Lumumba: Conflict in the Congo.[16] He later became a professor of politics at the University of Massachusetts Boston.[17]
Kanza returned to the Congo in 1983 following the declaration of a general amnesty by Mobutu. He unsuccessfully ran for the premiership against Étienne Tshisekedi in 1992 as the pro–Mobutu candidate. In June 1997, he was appointed Minister of International Cooperation in the new government of Laurent Kabila.[11] By 1998, he was the Minister of Labour and Social Security.[18]
Kanza died of a heart attack in London on 25 October 2004 while serving as the Congo's ambassador to Sweden.[19]
See also
- Sophie Kanza, sister, first woman Congolese university graduate
- Marcel Lihau, brother-in-law, first Congolese law student
- Paul Panda Farnana, first Congolese to receive higher education
Citations
- ↑ "In memoriam: L’ambassadeur Thomas Kanza inhumé vendredi ŕ Oxford !". Digital Congo (in French). 5 November 2004. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
- 1 2 Stewart 2003, Chapter 6: Celebrations and sorrows
- ↑ Buettner 2016, p. 177
- 1 2 3 Legum 1961, p. 105
- ↑ Kanza 1978, p. 81
- ↑ Henry 2005, p. 190
- ↑ Kantowicz 2000, p. 270
- ↑ LaFontaine 1986, p. 155
- ↑ "Hommage au patriote Thomas Kanza". Digital Congo (in French). 12 November 2004. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
- ↑ Gérard 1986, p. 544
- 1 2 Kisangani 2016, p. 333
- ↑ Ostermann 2007, p. 539
- ↑ Cordier & Foote 2013, p. 221
- ↑ "Gizenga Delegate Here". The Harvard Crimson. 16 February 1961.
- ↑ Gérard 1986, p. 543
- ↑ Kantowicz 2000, p. 468
- ↑ "Professor of Politics Thomas Kanza lecturing in class on the Columbia Point campus". Open Archives at UMass Boston. University of Massachusetts Boston. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
- ↑ Banks, Day & Muller 2016, p. 216
- ↑ Kisangani 2016, p. 334
References
- Banks, Aurthur S.; Day, Alan J.; Muller, Thomas C. (2016). Political Handbook of the World 1998 (illustrated ed.). Springer. ISBN 9781349149513.
- Buettner, Elizabeth (2016). Europe after Empire: Decolonization, Society, and Culture. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781316594704.
- Cordier, Andrew W.; Foote, Wilder (2013). Public Papers of the Secretaries General of the United Nations. 5. Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231513791.
- LaFontaine, J.S. (1986). City Politics: A Study of Léopoldville 1962–63. American Studies. Cambridge University Press Archive.
- Gérard, Albert S., ed. (1986). European-language Writing in Sub-Saharan Africa. 1. John Benjamins Publishing. ISBN 9789630538329.
- Henry, Charles P. (2005). Ralph Bunche: Model Negro Or American Other? (illustrated, reprint ed.). NYU Press. ISBN 9780814735831.
- Kantowicz, Edward R. (2000). Coming Apart, Coming Together. The World in the 20th Century (illustrated ed.). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. ISBN 9780802844569.
- Kanza, Thomas R. (1978). The rise and fall of Patrice Lumumba: conflict in the Congo (illustrated ed.). R. Collings. ISBN 9780860360681.
- Kisangani, Emizet Francois (2016). Historical Dictionary of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (4 ed.). Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781442273160.
- Legum, Colin (1961). Congo Disaster. Penguin.
- Ostermann, Christian F., ed. (2007). Bulletin: Inside China's Cold War. Cold War Bulletin. 16. Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
- Stewart, Gary (2003). Rumba on the River: A History of the Popular Music of the Two Congos (illustrated ed.). Verso. ISBN 9781859843680.