Alexis Thambwe Mwamba
Alexis Thambwe Mwamba (born May 6, 1943) is a Congolese politician who has assumed various political roles and offices since the early 1980s going from Minister of Public Works, Minister of State Portfolio, Minister of Transportation, Minister of Planning, Minister of Foreign Affairs and recently in December 2014, he was appointed Minister of Justice of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Alexis Thambwe Mwamba | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Thambwe Mwamba in 2010 | |
| President of the Senate of Congo | |
| Assumed office 27 July 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Léon Mamboleo |
| Minister of Planning and Reconstruction | |
| In office 2003–2006 | |
| Member of the National Assembly for Kindu | |
| Assumed office 2006 | |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation | |
| In office October 2008 – April 2012 | |
| Preceded by | Antipas Mbusa Nyamwisi |
| Succeeded by | Raymond Tshibanda |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 6, 1943 Longa, Maniema province |
| Nationality | Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Born in Longa, Maniema province, Thambwe Mwamba is a practicing lawyer in the Democratic Republic of Congo and possibly one of the longest serving public servant of the country from the time he was first appointed Minister of Public Works in 1985 serving in the government of Mobutu Sese Seko.[1]
During the Second Congo War, Thambwe Mwamba was a member of the rebel Movement for the Liberation of Congo led by Jean-Pierre Bemba that controlled much of the north of the country.[2] A Belgian magistrate investigated Thambwe Mwamba for money laundering, over payments he allegedly received to finance the war from international trafficking of coltan.[3]
He was Minister of Planning and Reconstruction in the Transitional Government from 2003 to 2006. He was elected as an independent member of the National Assembly for Kindu in the 2006 general election and joined the government under President Joseph Kabila. He was appointed Foreign Minister.
In late August 2009, shots were fired at his house as a threat against testifying in the trial at the International Criminal Court of Bemba.[2]
27 July 2019 Alexis Thambwe Mwamba was elected President of the Senate.[4]
Education and personal life
Alexis Thambwe Mwamba was educated in the D.R. Congo, in Burundi and in Belgium.
He is married and has 7 children.
One of his daughters is the author of "The untold story of the women and children of the Democratic Republic of Congo" (2012).
Career
References
- Le juge belge dénonce un ministre congolais, Le Soir, 2003-01-08, accessed on 2008-09-01
- Congo ministers attacked in Bemba trial "warning", Reuters, 2009-08-31
- DRC: Belgium to probe Congolese minister accused of money laundering, IRIN, 2003-01-09
- "Democratic Republic of the Congo". New Parline: the IPU’s Open Data Platform (beta). July 5, 2018.