Zaire

Also known as Republic of Zaire

Cause of death

Killed by one executive

Made by

Mobutu Sese Seko

Laurent-Desire Kabila restored the country's former name on deposing Mobutu Sese Seko in May 1997.

Mobutu renamed the country Zaire in 1971 as part of a campaign of authenticity that also required citizens to drop their Christian names, and changed his own to Mobutu Sese Seko the following year. The name lasted twenty-six years and did not outlive him in power by much: when rebels took the capital in May 1997 and Mobutu fled to Morocco, the Democratic Republic of the Congo was restored almost immediately. Mobutu died four months later.