Justine KASSA-VUBU An author from Congo writing in French [Return to French — Page originale en français]

Justine M'Poyo Kasa-Vubu was born just nine years before the Congo gained independence in June 1960. Born on April 14, 1951, she was the fourth child of Joseph Kasa-Vubu who became the first President of the Republic of Congo. Justine completed her early studies at Rosey in Switzerland, completing her tertiary studies in Social Sciences at the Catholic University in Louvain, Belgium in 1975. She then began a career with the United Nations Commission for Refugees in Geneva, later returning to Belgium to work at the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Natural Disasters (UCL) and at the Centre for African Studies (ULB).

After the coup d'état of Mobutu in 1965, to which she was opposed, she went into self-imposed exile, first in Algeria, then Switzerland and finally in Belgium. In 1991 she joined the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) of Etienne Tsisekedi, - the principal party opposed to Mobutu - for which she was the representative in the Benelux countries from 1992 until 1995. After the fall of Mobutu, she became the Minister for the Public Service in the new government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo led by Laurent Kabila. Resigning from her position in 1998, Justine Kasa-Vubu once again went in exile where she founded the Movement of Democrats.

Publications

Kassa-Vubu et le Congo Indépendant (1960-1969). Bruxelles: Le Cri, 1997. (187p.). ISBN 2-87106-185-8. Biography.

Sommes-nous décolonisés ? Bruxelles: Editions Labor, 2000. (95p.). ISBN 2-8040-1473-8. Essays.

Editor ([email protected])
The University of Western Australia/French
Created: 12 December 2002
Archived: 19 December 2012
https://aflit.arts.uwa.edu.au/KassaVubuEng.html