Freddy Matungulu

Who is Freddy Matungulu?

Mbuyamu Ilankir "Freddy" Matungulu was born in Belgian Congo on 4 January 1955. An economist, he was Finance Minister of the DRC in the first government appointed by young President Joseph Kabila.

In the fall of 1986, he obtained a PhD degree at the Fletcher School, Tufts University. During 1986-92, he taught economics at the University of Kinshasa and served respectively as special advisor to the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Congo and chief economic advisor to the Prime Minister and to the Ministers of Economic Planning, Budget Management, Transport and Communication, and Foreign Trade.

In July 1992, Matungulu joined the staff of the International Monetary Fund as an economist, later becoming senior economist and deputy division chief. As the IMF's resident representative in Cameroon, he supervised the successful implementation of the central African nation's ambitious economic reform program initiated in 1996, allowing Cameroon to reach the Decision Point under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative. From April 2001 to February 2003, he served as Finance Minister in his home country, the Democratic Republic of Congo.