Patrice Lumumba's Birth Anniversary

 

Patrice Émery Lumumba, born Isaïe Tasumbu Tawosa;on 2 July 1925, in Onalua, Belgian Congo [now Democratic Republic of the Congo], was a Congolese politician and independence leader who served as the first Prime minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo (then known as the Republic of the Congo) from June until September 1960, following the May 1960 election. He was the leader of the Congolese National Movement (MNC) from 1958 until his assassination in 1961. Ideologically an African nationalist and pan-Africanist, he played a significant role in the transformation of the Congo from a colony of Belgium into an independent republic.

Shortly after Congolese independence in June 1960, a mutiny broke out in the army, marking the beginning of the Congo Crisis. After a coup, Lumumba attempted to escape to Stanleyville to join his supporters who had established a new anti-Mobutu state called the Free Republic of the Congo. Lumumba was captured enroute by state authorities under Joseph-Désiré Mobutu (Sese Seko), sent to the State of Katanga and, with the help of Belgian mercenaries, tortured and executed by the separatist Katangan authorities of Moïse Tshombe. In 2002, Belgium formally apologized for its role in the execution, admitting "moral responsibility", and in 2022, they returned Lumumba’s tooth to his family. He is seen as a martyr for the pan-African movement.

 

King Olav V Birth Anniversary

 

Olav V, born on 2 July 1903, in Appleton House, near Sandringham, Norfolk, England, was the king of Norway (1957-91), succeeding his father, King Haakon VII.

Olav was educated at the Norwegian military academy and at the University of Oxford in England. As crown prince he was a celebrated athlete and sportsman, excelling at ski jumping and yachting. He won a gold medal in yachting at the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam. In 1929 Olav married Princess Martha of Sweden, who died in 1954. They had three children.

After having resisted the German invaders for two months during World War II, Olav left for England with the king and the government in June 1940. He was named head of the Norwegian armed forces in 1944. He returned a few weeks before the king in 1945, serving briefly as regent. He again became regent in 1955 when his father suffered an accident, serving in that capacity until Haakon’s death in 1957. Like other constitutional monarchs, Olav’s duties were largely ceremonial. He was succeeded in 1991 by his son, Harald V.