Denis Sassou Nguesso

Denis Sassou Nguesso (born 23 November 1943) is a Congolese politician and former military officer who became president of the Republic of the Congo in 1997.

A member of the Mbochi tribe, Sassou Nguesso was born in Edou in the Oyo district in northern Congo in 1943.

His parents are Julien Nguesso and Émilienne Mouebara.

Nguesso was the youngest child in the family.

His father was a notable hunter chief in Edou.

He received primary education in Fort Rousset, now Owando.

He studied in Dolisie Normal College between 1956 and 1960.

He joined the army in 1960 just before the country was granted independence.

He received military training in Algeria.

In 1962, he returned to Congo and was reassigned to active duty with the rank of second lieutenant.

A year later, he joined the Application School for Infantry, at Saint-Maixent-l'École, France whence he graduated with the rank of lieutenant.

He returned to join Congo's elite paratroop regiment.

He was one of the first officers of the Airborne Group, the first paratroop battalion of the Congolese Army, which was created by Marien Ngouabi in 1965.

He commanded the Airborne Group, the army and the Brazzaville Military Zone (ZAB), and then headed the Intelligence department of the State Security Services.

He was part of the 1968 military coup that overthrew president Massemba Debat and brought Marien Ngouabi to power.

He was a founding member of the National Revolution Counsil (Conseil National de la revolution) in December 1968.

In 1968, Sassou Nguessou took part in the military coup led by Commander Marien Ngouabi against Debat: He was a member of the Congolese National Revolution Council (Conseil National de la révolution) established on 5 August 1968.

Under the leadership of Marien Ngouabi, the group limited the president's powers, before the latter finally resigned on 3 September 1968.

Ngouabi officially became head of state in January 1969.

In December 1969, Sassou Nguessou was elected as a member of the first central committee of the new Congolese Labor Party (PCT: Parti Congolais du travail).

It was a communist party with a Marxist–Leninist doctrine.

It was headed by Marien Ngouabi as president of the central committee, president of the republic and head of state.

A new constitution was issued on 31 December 1969, which designated the country as the People's Republic of Congo.

In March 1970, following a failed coup attempted by Pierre Kinganga, a former lieutenant who was exiled in the neighboring Congo-Kinshasa, an extraordinary session of the PCT's congress was held, during which Denis Sassou N'guessou integrated the Political bureau of the PCT.

On 18 May 1973, Sassou Nguessou who had been corps commander of the airborne group, was made Director of State Security.

In 1975, amid an economic crisis, an extraordinary session of the PCT central committee was summoned.

The 8 member political bureau resigned and was replaced by a restricted "Revolutionary Special General Staff" (Etat major spécial révolutionnaire) composed of 5 members and headed by Marien Ngouabi.

Sassou Nguessou was one of the 5.

At the end of the extraordinary session, Marien Ngouabi asked Sassou Nguessou and 5 other members to craft a paper on the economic and political situation.

The paper became known as the "Declaration of 12 December 1975".

He became captain, then commander, and was promoted to colonel (1978) and later as army general (1989).

He served a previous term as president from 1979 to 1992.

During his first period as president, he headed the Congolese Party of Labour (PCT) for 12 years.

He introduced multiparty politics in 1990, but was stripped of executive powers by the 1991 National Conference, remaining in office as a ceremonial head of state.

He stood as a candidate in the 1992 presidential election but placed third.

Sassou Nguesso was an opposition leader for five years before returning to power during the Second Republic of the Congo Civil War, in which his rebel forces ousted President Pascal Lissouba.

Following a transitional period, he won the 2002 presidential election, which involved low opposition participation.

He was re-elected in the 2009 presidential election.

The introduction of a new constitution, passed by referendum in 2015 amidst calls for boycott then a dismissal of results by opposition leaders, enabled Sassou Nguesso to stand for another term.

He was re-elected in the 2016 presidential election with a majority in the first round.