Léonard She Okitundu

Léonard She Okitundu Lundula (born 8 March 1946) is a Congolese diplomat who has served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and one of the Vice Prime Ministers of the Democratic Republic of the Congo since December 2016 until March 2019. He has formerly held a number of other government offices in the DRC and Zaïre, being the Foreign Minister before (2000–2003), a Senator, and also chief of staff of President Joseph Kabila's administration.

Léonard She Okitundu
Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation
In office
December 2016 – March 2019
PresidentJoseph Kabila
Prime MinisterBruno Tshibala
Preceded byRaymond Tshibanda
Succeeded byAlexis Thambwe Mwamba
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
2000–2003
PresidentLaurent-Désiré Kabila
Joseph Kabila
Prime MinisterVacant
Preceded byAbdoulaye Yerodia Ndombasi
Succeeded byAntoine Ghonda
Personal details
Born (1946-03-08) March 8, 1946
Belgian Congo
OccupationPolitician, diplomat

Biography

The son of Dovell Okitundu and Kitenge Avoki, Okitundu was a lawyer by training and worked for Caritas Development in Switzerland for quite a long while, until 1997.[1][2][3]

Okitundu replaced Abdoulaye Yerodia Ndombasi in 2000 as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the DRC, having previously been minister of human rights since March 15, 1999.[3][4] In December 2001, he visited Japan for a ministerial meeting of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development.[5] From 2003 to 2006, Okitundu was chief of staff of President Joseph Kabila.[2] On a visit to London during the 2006 general election in October 2006, he was attacked by men who were suspected of being opponents of Kabila outside the Foreign Office and was admitted to Central Middlesex Hospital.[6] He is also a member of the Senate of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[7]

In December 2016, Okitundu replaced Raymond Tshibanda as Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation as President Kabila reshuffled the cabinet in a deal with the Congolese opposition, postponing the general election that was supposed to occur that month. The next month, he represented the DRC at the Africa–France summit.[8] In February Okitundu met with Christos Stylianides, the European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection.[9] He met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in March 2017 and discussed a number of issues, including Democratic Republic of the Congo–Russia relations and regional issues.[10] That July he met with Russian Ambassador to the DRC Igor Evdokimov and they discussed the two countries' cooperation within the framework of international organizations, as well as economic relations.[11] In November 2017, Okitundu traveled to several countries, meeting with Didier Reynders, his Belgian counterpart, at an African Union–European Union summit in Ivory Coast, where they discussed the opening of Belgium's new embassy in Kinshasa and increasing Belgium–Democratic Republic of the Congo relations.[12] He also met with Sushma Swaraj, Minister of External Affairs of India, where they spoke of increasing bilateral relations between the two countries.[13]

He stepped down as foreign minister on 7 March 2019.[14]

Sources

References
  1. "Leonard She Okitundu fue recibido en la Legislatura" (in French). Revistaque. 8 September 2017.
  2. "Léonard She Okitundu Lundula, Democratic Republic of Congo" (PDF). Congress Archive.
  3. Biwanza, José (27 December 2016). "Vice-premier ministre, ministre aux Affaires étrangères et Intégration régionale She Okitundu promet la paix sociale avec le personnel et la solution dans le gel des avoirs des officiels congolais" (in French). Overblog.
  4. Europa Publications (2003), p. 270
  5. Japan-Democratic Republic of the Congo Relations (Basic Data). Japanese foreign ministry. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  6. Audrey Gillan, Hugh Muir, and David Pallister (12 October 2006). Beaten, stripped and humiliated online - an African minister's welcome to the UK. The Guardian. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  7. Morice, Florence (21 May 2016). Léonard She Okitundu (RDC): probable report de l’élection présidentielle en RDC (in French). Radio France Internationale. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  8. Kibangula, Trésor (15 January 2017). RD Congo : le grand retour de Léonard She Okitundu (in French). Jeune Afrique. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  9. Visit of Leonard She Okitundu, Vice-Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, to the EC European Council website. Published 9 February 2017. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  10. Press release on Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s talks with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Leonard She Okitundu. Russian foreign ministry website. Published 22 March 2017. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  11. О встрече Посла России с заместителем премьер-министра, министром иностранных дел ДР Конго (in Russian). Russian Embassy in the DRC website. Published 12 July 2017. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  12. Didier Reynders meets his Congolese counterpart Leonard She Okitundu in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Belgian foreign ministry website. Published 28 November 2017. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  13. Sushma Swaraj meets Congo deputy PM Leonard She Okitundu, hold bilateral talks aimed at boosting ties. Firstpost. Published 10 November 2017. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  14. RDC : Alexis Tambwe Mwamba nommé vice-Premier ministre, ministre des Affaires étrangères intérimaire (in French). Published 7 March 2019.

Books
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