2009 Democratic Republic of Congo

The Democratic Republic of Congo
center|Flag
center|Location
Capital: Kinshasa
Official Language: French
Government: Semi-Presidential Republic
Head of State: Jean-Baptiste Luma Katumba
Formation: Independence from Belgium, June 30, 1960
Population: 62,600,000 (2007 estimate)
Currency: Franc (CDF)
Human Rights RecordHuman Rights in the DRC
Territorial DisputesTerritorial Disputes of the DRC
Ongoing Conflicts Rebels in East Congo
 
Welcome to the international embassy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo!
=Diplomatic Relations=
See main article here.
=Summary=
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (French: République démocratique du Congo), often referred to as DR Congo, DRC or RDC, and formerly known or referred to as Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Congo-Léopoldville, Congo-Kinshasa, and Zaire (or Zaïre in French), is the third largest country by area in Africa.
Though it is located in the Central African UN subregion, the nation is economically and regionally affiliated with Southern Africa as a member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). It borders the Central African Republic and Sudan on the north, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi on the east, Zambia and Angola on the south, the Republic of the Congo on the west, and is separated from Tanzania by Lake Tanganyika on the east. The country enjoys access to the ocean through a forty-kilometre stretch of Atlantic coastline at Muanda and the roughly nine-kilometre wide mouth of the Congo river which opens into the Gulf of Guinea. The name "Congo" (meaning "hunter") is coined after the Bakongo ethnic group who live in the Congo river basin.
=Brief History=
Formerly the Belgian colony of the Belgian Congo, the country's post-independence name was the Republic of the Congo until August 1, 1964, when its name was changed to Democratic Republic of the Congo (to distinguish it from the neighboring Republic of the Congo). On October 27, 1971, then-President Mobutu renamed the country Zaire, from a Portuguese mispronunciation of the Kikongo word nzere or nzadi, which translates to "the river that swallows all rivers." Following the First Congo War which led to the overthrow of Mobutu in 1997, the country was renamed Democratic Republic of the Congo. From 1998 to 2003, the country suffered greatly from the devastating Second Congo War (sometimes referred to as the "African World War"), the world's deadliest conflict since World War II. Related fighting still continues in the east of the country. 
Since the conclusion of the war and the fall of Joseph Kabila, the DRC has had a series of Presidents of varying quality and ideology. The current President is Jean-Baptiste Luma Katumba, formerly a general in the Congolese army and a committed democrat. Katumba's first act in office was to present a bill reforming his predecessor's National Emergency Act, which placed an undue amount of power in the hands of the President.
=Diplomatic Messages=
(Please post them here)
=Resources=
*The DRC on Wikipedia
*The DRC on the BBC
*The DRC on the CIA world factbook
*Homepage of the DRC's government
Category:2009 Round Nation