The position of prime minister was already present in the first government after independence of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with the first prime minister Patrice Emery Lumumba. Over the years the position's powers and attributions have varied widely, and there were long periods of time under the Mobutu Sese Seko, and the period following the First Congo War, when the position was abolished in 1966. The position was restored by Mobutu in 1977, as the title of "First State Commissioner" which, in reality, was weak in comparison to the pre-war office of Prime Minister, and was occupied by several individuals who were appointed at Mobutu's whim. The office became vacant with Mobutu's forced ouster in 1997.