Alphonse Massamba-Débat

Who was Alphonse Massamba-Débat?

Alphonse Massamba-Débat was a political figure of the Republic of the Congo who led the country from 1963 until 1968.

When the President of the Republic of the Congo, Fulbert Youlou, was deposed in a coup d'état on August 15, 1963, the presidency was suspended. Massamba-Débat, Chairman of the National Council of the Revolution, was declared Prime Minister the next day, and the National Council of the Revolution was declared the only legal political party in the country. Massamba-Débat became President on December 19, 1963, with Pascal Lissouba standing in as the new Prime Minister.

Massamba-Débat's government was overthrown on September 4, 1968 by Marien Ngouabi, the chairman of the same party that had brought Massamba-Débat to power. He was then forced to leave politics. When Ngouabi was murdered in 1977, many people were arrested and tried for plotting the assassination, including Massamba-Débat. He was convicted and executed in March for treason, although there is little evidence that he knew of the plot beforehand.