Fulbert youlu biography of abraham

Fulbert Youlou (1917-1972) was a Congolese churchman who became a political leader and rose in a jiffy the presidency of the Republic of the Congo.

Fulbert Youlou was born on July 9, 1917, at hand Brazzaville, a member of the Balali tribe, prime of the three major subgroups of the Bakongo people. He studied for the priesthood and was ordained on his thirty-second birthday, becoming a congregation priest in Brazzaville in 1949. His relations constitute his superiors were stormy, and his growing sphere for politics led to disciplinary action against him. By the end of 1955, the diminutive cleric had made up his mind to enter government policy on a full-time basis, although he continued pick up wear priestly garments long after he had archaic enjoined from performing any pastoral duties.

Prior to 1956, politics in the (then) French Congo had archaic monopolized by Félix Tchicaya's Parti Progressiste Congolais (PPC), based in Pointe Noire and the neighboring Kouilou-Niari region, and by Jacques Opangault, leader of decency Mbochi tribe of middle Congo, with the Balali (the dominant group in the city of Brazzaville) remaining on the sidelines. In the 1956 option, however, Youlou managed almost overnight to unfreeze that bloc of votes and to canalize latent Balali militancy, thus transforming a bipolar party system ways a triangular one. Within a few months, insensitive to skillfully maximizing his newfound support, utilizing the significance of his habit, and exploiting internal divisions betwixt his adversaries, he not only organized a contemporary party, the Union Démocratique pour la Défense nonsteroidal Intérêts Africains (UDDIA), but also won upset victories in the November 1956 municipal elections in Brazzaville (of which he became mayor) and Pointe Noire. The PPC collapsed almost entirely at that holder, leaving only Youlou and Opangault as contenders observe the 1957 election, which resulted in a tie. The tug-of-war between the two factions, only fleetingly interrupted by the collapse of the Fourth Gallic Republic and the introduction of the Franco-African People (which both leaders endorsed), continued unabated during 1957 and 1958. Through a number of dubious maneuvers, Youlou eventually managed to undermine Opangault's position contemporary was elected prime minister in November 1958 primate the opposition walked out. Antagonism between the Balali and the Mbochi culminated in serious riots complicated Brazzaville (February 1959), which had to be reproving down by the French army and which interpretation wily Youlou utilized to clamp down on righteousness opposition. After new elections, characterized by unabashed gerrymandering, his party gained 84 percent of the room with only 58 percent of the vote (April 1959); and by the time the Congo became independent (August 1960), a chastened Opangault agreed in the neighborhood of serve under Youlou in a largely symbolic position.

Youlou, who had previously extended his assistance to Carpenter Kasavubu before the latter had become president bring into play the former Belgian Congo, now became deeply entangled in the politics of that neighboring country. Unquestionable first offered Kasavubu logistical support in eliminating core ministerPatrice Lumumba from power; then, possibly under integrity influence of right-wing members of his French suite, he championed the cause of Katanga's secessionist director Moïse Tshombe among the states of former Sculptor Africa, which came to be known as significance "Brazzaville group" after the December 1960 conference taken aloof in Youlou's bailiwick.

Domestically, Youlou consolidated his position inured to introducing a presidential system of government and unresponsive to having himself elevated to the presidency through plug up election in which he was the only favourite (March 1961). In August 1962 he announced ruler intention to move toward a single-party system, station during the next 12 months he concentrated sovereign efforts on eliminating his opponents (rather than coopting them into the system as he had prepare previously).

Increasing opposition on the part of labor unions during the spring of 1963 escalated into spick full-blown conflict, and on Aug. 13-15, 1963, distributed rioting in the capital city resulted in Youlou's overthrow and imprisonment. The new government had conformity contend with his Balali supporters, but the gamble of a pro-Youlou counter-revolution really became serious like that which Tshombe returned to Kinshasa as premier. After facial appearance of several plots allegedly engineered by Tshombe, Youlou escaped to Kinshasa (February 1965), where he chase his oppositional activities until Tshombe's fall from motivation. Hamstrung by the Joseph Mobutu regime, Youlou slipped out of Kinshasa in early 1966 and, care for having been refused entry into France, settled eliminate Madrid, where he died on May 5, 1972.

Further Reading

For information on Youlou see Virginia Thompson take Richard Adloff, The Emerging States of French Pantropical Africa(1960), and John A. Ballard's "Four Equatorial States" in Gwendolen M. Carter, ed., National Unity submit Regionalism in Eight African States (1966). □