Son of Struggling Africa: On the Centenary of Patrice Lumumba’s Birth (July 2, 1925 - January 17, 1961)

The article commemorates the 100th anniversary of the birth of Patrice Emery Lumumba, a national hero of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), one of the most prominent leaders of the African anti-colonial movement, and the first Prime Minister of an independent country. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, his homeland became an arena for confrontation between the African liberation forces and the West, which was interested in maintaining its position in the mineral-rich country in Central Africa. In modern terms, as African countries strive to assert their sovereignty and security, strengthen their presence in the global economy and politics, it is crucial for them to rely on historical experience, taking into consideration the successes and failures of the period of struggle for independence and decolonization. Using the biographical method, the article undertakes a comprehensive analysis of the development of an individual’s life strategy as a social subject in interaction with society, examining how the environment and socio-cultural circumstances affect a person’s beliefs and behavior, and the subsequent manifestations of a unique and typical character. The research is grounded in a comprehensive examination of P. Lumumba’s speeches, correspondence, and published articles. Additionally, it draws upon annual collections of Belgian and Congolese documents on the situation in the country (1959-1961), published in Brussels. P. Lumumba’s personality was shaped by a specific system of the Belgian colonial administration. P. Lumumba was a highly intelligent individual hailing from a humble peasant background. He was a talented organizer and an excellent orator. Thanks to his natural abilities, hard work and self-education, he became one of the most respected politicians of the DRC on the eve of and in the first year of its independence. P. Lumumba founded a new political party, the Congolese National Movement, which was the only party to deviate from narrow ethnic interests. The main tenets of the program can be summarized as follows: the formation of an independent, unified, integral and indivisible Congo; the organization of the public sector, which controls the mining industry, to pursue an independent course in the economic field and in foreign policy; overcoming tribalism and regionalism; creating a just society without poverty and exploitation. In foreign policy, he focused on neutrality and Pan-Africanism. The article analyzes how, during the Cold War, such a radical policy and uncompromising stance of P. Lumumba turned the West and pro-Western forces inside the Congo against him, which caused a crisis in the country that led to the assassination of the Prime Minister. The different assessments of P. Lumumba’s activities primarily stem from the varying political positions of researchers and politicians, as well as from the contradictory worldview and the lack of formality of the politician’s own program.