<P> After an uprising by the Congolese people , Belgium surrendered to the independence of the Congo in 1960 . However , the Congo remained unstable because tribal leaders had more power than the central government . Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba tried to restore order with the aid of the Soviet Union as part of the Cold War , causing the United States to support a coup led by Colonel Joseph Mobutu in 1965 . Mobutu quickly seized complete power of the Congo and renamed the country Zaire . He sought to Africanize the country , changing his own name to Mobutu Sese Seko , and demanded that African citizens change their Western names to traditional African names . Mobutu sought to repress any opposition to his rule , in which he successfully did throughout the 1980s . However , with his regime weakened in the 1990s , Mobutu was forced to agree to a power - sharing government with the opposition party . Mobutu remained the head of state and promised elections within the next two years that never took place . </P>
<P> After an uprising by the Congolese people , Belgium surrendered to the independence of the Congo in 1960 . However , the Congo remained unstable because tribal leaders had more power than the central government . Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba tried to restore order with the aid of the Soviet Union as part of the Cold War , causing the United States to support a coup led by Colonel Joseph Mobutu in 1965 . Mobutu quickly seized complete power of the Congo and renamed the country Zaire . He sought to Africanize the country , changing his own name to Mobutu Sese Seko , and demanded that African citizens change their Western names to traditional African names . Mobutu sought to repress any opposition to his rule , in which he successfully did throughout the 1980s . However , with his regime weakened in the 1990s , Mobutu was forced to agree to a power - sharing government with the opposition party . Mobutu remained the head of state and promised elections within the next two years that never took place . </P>
when did democratic republic of congo become independent
when did democratic republic of congo become independent
1960
1960