Africa's Lost Leader

This book explores the life of Patrice Lumumba (1926-61), the iconic leader of the Congo’s independence movement and a symbol of anti-imperialist struggle. Revised with new intelligence archives, it traces his transition from nationalist to revolutionary and details the crisis that exposed Western colonialism.

Patrice Lumumba (1926-61) is perhaps the most famous leader of the African independence movement. He became an icon of anti-imperialist struggle after his execution in 1961, when he had been prime minister of the newly liberated Congo for only seven months. As the news came out, his picture was brandished in demonstrations in capitals around the world, along with those of Che Guevara and Mao Zedong. His life and the independence that he sought for the Congo made him a pivotal figure of the 20th century, exposing ongoing Western colonialism and the problematic nature of the independence granted to huge swathes of the globe after 1945.

In this book, revised and updated to include new thinking on the Congo crisis and incorporating material recently released from British intelligence archives, Leo Zeilig tells the story of the Congo in the dying days of colonialism, and of Lumumba’s transition from nationalist to revolutionary to international symbol of African liberation.