Statue of Lumumba in Kinshasa.

Patrice Émery Lumumba (2 July 1925 – 17 January 1961) was a Congolese independence leader and the first democratically elected leader of the Congo. As founder and leader of the mainstream Mouvement National Congolais (MNC) party, Lumumba played an important role in campaigning for independence from Belgium.

Within twelve weeks of Congolese independence in 1960, Lumumba's government was deposed in a coup during the Congo Crisis following his attempt to solicit support from the Soviet Union against Katangan secessionists. This led to growing differences with President Joseph Kasa-Vubu and chief-of-staff Joseph-Désiré Mobutu as well as foreign opposition from the United States and Belgium. Lumumba was subsequently imprisoned by state authorities under Mobutu and executed by firing squad under the command of the Katangan authorities.

Quotes

• No one is perfect in this imperfect world.
  • Congo, My Country

• Without dignity there is no liberty, without justice there is no dignity, and without independence there are no free men.
  • Letter to his wife (Congo, My Country)

• A minimum of comfort is necessary for the practice of virtue.
  • Congo, My Country

External links

• Speeches and writings by and about Patrice Lumumba, at the Marxists Internet Archive.
• Virtual Memorial to Patrice Lumumba, at Find-A-grave.
• Patrice Lumumba: 50 Years Later, Remembering the U.S.-Backed Assassination – video report

• SpyCast – 1 December 2007: On Assignment to Congo-Peter chats with Larry Devlin, the CIA's legendary station chief in Congo during the 1960s.
• Africa Within. A rich source of information on Lumumba, including a reprint of Stephen R. Weissman's 21 July 2002 article from the Washington Post.
• BBC Lumumba apology: Congo's mixed feelings.
• Mysteries of History Lumumba assassination.
• Lumumba and the Congo Documentary of Lumumba's life and work in the Congo.
• BBC An "On this day" text. It features an audio clip of a BBC correspondent on Lumumba's death.
• Belgian Parliament The findings of the Belgian Commission of 2001 investigating Belgian involvement in the death of Lumumba. Documents at the bottom of the page are in English.
• Beat Knowledge tribute to Lumumba Tribute to Lumumba on 50th anniversary of his assassination (17 January 2011).
• Belgian Commission's Conclusion A particular document from the previous link.
• D'Lynn Waldron Dr. D'Lynn Waldron's extensive archive of articles, photographs, and documents from her days as a foreign press correspondent in Lumumba's 1960 Congo.
• CIA plans included the assassination of Patrice Lumumba, report from the Washington Post by Karen DeYoung and Walter Pincus.
• Patrice Emery Lumumba: Memory of Congolese Leader Lives on 50 Years Later.
• David Akerman (21 October 2000). "Who Killed Lumumba?". BBC. Retrieved on 1 December 2007. 
• Harry Gilroy (1 July 1960). "Lumumba Assails Colonialism as Congo Is Freed". New York Times. Retrieved on 1 December 2007. 
• "The Bad Dream". Time Magazine. 20 January 1961. Retrieved on 1 December 2007. 
• "Lumumba children get gifts from Germany". The Straits Times. 13 February 1961. Retrieved on 8 October 2010.  ( Picture of Lumumba's children in Egypt, visited by the wife of East Germany's leading foreign politician Heinrich Rau. )