Alexis Thambwe Mwamba Explained

Alexis Thambwe Mwamba
Office1:President of the Senate of Congo
Term Start1:27 July 2019
Term End1:5 February 2021[1]
Predecessor1:Léon Mamboleo
Successor1:Modeste Bahati Lukwebo
Office2:Minister of Planning and Reconstruction
Term Start2:2003
Term End2:2006
Office3:Member of the National Assembly for Kindu
Term Start3:2006
Office4:Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation
Term Start4:October 2008
Term End4:April 2012
Predecessor4:Antipas Mbusa
Successor4:Raymond Tshibanda
Birth Date:6 May 1943
Birth Place:Longa, Maniema province
Nationality:Democratic Republic of the Congo

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.

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.[2]

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.[3] A Belgian magistrate investigated Thambwe Mwamba for money laundering, over payments he allegedly received to finance the war from international trafficking of coltan.[4]

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.[3]

27 July 2019 Alexis Thambwe Mwamba was elected President of the Senate.[5] On 5 February 2021, he resigned from this position, thereby avoiding an anticipated removal process.[6]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Sénat : Thambwe Mwamba a démissionné . Berith Yakitenge . 5 February 2021 . . 15 February 2021 .
  2. https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://users.skynet.be/wihogora/mwamba-lsoir-080103.htm&ei=7xudSv39GaSsjAfPx43bDQ&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=15&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dalexis%2Bthambwe%2Bmwamba%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1G1GGLQ_ENGB304 Le juge belge dénonce un ministre congolais
  3. https://www.reuters.com/article/featuredCrisis/idUSLV231959 Congo ministers attacked in Bemba trial "warning"
  4. http://www.irinnews.org/PrintReport.aspx?ReportId=40692 DRC: Belgium to probe Congolese minister accused of money laundering
  5. Web site: Democratic Republic of the Congo. July 5, 2018. New Parline: the IPU’s Open Data Platform (beta).
  6. Web site: Sénat : Thambwe Mwamba a démissionné . Berith Yakitenge . 5 February 2021 . . 15 February 2021 .