Editing Marien Ngouabi (section)

==Biography==
===Origins===
Marien Ngouabi was born in 1938 at the village of Ombellé, [[Cuvette Department]], in Kouyou territory to Dominique Osséré m'Opoma and Antoinette Mboualé-Abemba.<ref name="Liste des présidents de la République du Congo Brazzaville2014">{{cite web|url=http://www.consulatgeneralcongo.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=31&Itemid=167|language=fr|date=17 August 2014|title=Liste des présidents de la République du Congo Brazzaville|publisher=Consulate General of Congo in Tunis}}</ref> He is originally from a kuyu humble family. From 1947 to 1953, he went to primary school in [[Owando]]. On 14 September 1953, he went to study at the ''Ecole des enfants de troupes Général Leclerc'' in [[Brazzaville]]<ref name="DOSSIER DE DIGITAL CAFE2008">{{cite web |url= http://digitalcafe.over-blog.org/article-17800565.html |language=fr |access-date= 2017-09-03 |title= Dossier de digital cafe |publisher= Blogspot |date= 14 February 2008}}</ref> and in 1957, he was sent to [[Bouar]], [[Oubangui-Chari]] (now the [[Central African Republic]]).

After serving in [[Cameroon]] as a member of the second battalion of the [[tirailleur]]s with the rank of Sergeant (1958–1960),<ref name="Liste des présidents de la République du Congo Brazzaville2014"/> Ngouabi went to the ''Ecole Militaire Préparatoire'' in [[Strasbourg]], [[France]] in September 1960<ref name="DOSSIER DE DIGITAL CAFE2008"/><ref name="Liste des présidents de la République du Congo Brazzaville2014"/> and then to the ''Ecole Inter-armes'' at [[École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr|Coëtquidan Saint-Cyr]] in 1961. He returned to Congo in 1962 as Second Lieutenant and was stationed at the [[Pointe-Noire]] garrison. He was assigned to the Pointe-Noire garrison as a deputy commander of an infantry battalion.<ref name="Liste des présidents de la République du Congo Brazzaville2014"/> In 1963, Ngouabi was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant.

===Rise to power===
In 1965, he created the first battalion of [[paratrooper]]s in the Congo Republic. Known for his leftist views, in April 1966 Ngouabi was demoted to the rank of soldier second class when he refused to be posted again at Pointe-Noire, after rebelling against the army's inflexibility in politics and voicing strong criticism to the president.<ref name="Liste des présidents de la République du Congo Brazzaville2014"/> President [[Alphonse Massamba-Débat]] had Ngouabi and Second Lieutenant Eyabo arrested on July 29, 1968.

Ngouabi's arrest provoked discontent among the military, and on July 31, Ngouabi was freed by soldiers from the Civil Defense.<ref name="Liste des présidents de la République du Congo Brazzaville2014" /> The National Revolutionary Council (CNR), headed by Ngouabi, was created on August 5, 1968. On 1 October 1968, he was promoted to the rank of Commanding Officer, a rank he held until his death.<ref name="DOSSIER DE DIGITAL CAFE2008" /> Massamba-Débat, whose powers had been curtailed by the CNR, resigned on September 4, and Prime Minister [[Alfred Raoul]] served as acting head of state until December 31, 1968, when the CNR formally became the country's supreme authority and Ngouabi, as head of the CNR, assumed the presidency.<ref>[http://congagora.org/ngolongolo2.html "L'histoire du Parti Congolais du Travail: de Marien Ngouabi à Denis Sassou Nguesso."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080314155045/http://congagora.org/ngolongolo2.html |date=2008-03-14 }}, congagora.org {{in lang|fr}}.</ref>

===Head of state===
Once in power, President Ngouabi changed the country's name to the [[People's Republic of the Congo]], declaring it to be [[Africa]]'s first Marxist–Leninist state, and founded the [[Congolese Party of Labour|Congolese Workers' Party]] (''Parti Congolais du Travail'', PCT) as the country's only legal political party.

Ngouabi was a [[Mbochi people|Mbochi]] from the north and his regime shifted control of the country away from the south. Such moves created opposition among the population in the highly politicized environment of [[Brazzaville]]. Bureaucratic centralism, repression, the "mechanism" of the party apparatus, and Ngouabi's tribalist orientation towards Mbochi and La Cuvette immigrants created opposition within the Communist Party itself, especially its youth organization. In the fall of 1971, students that went on strike in [[Brazzaville]] and [[Pointe Noire]] were severely repressed by the authorities. The situation in the country was severely destabilized. There was an attempted coup in February 1972 that triggered a series of 'purges' of the opposition. It is claimed that Ngouabi was under [[France|French]] pressure to annex the [[petroleum|oil]]-rich [[Cabinda (province)|Cabinda]] [[enclave]]{{Citation needed|date=January 2013}}, a part of [[Portuguese Angola]], and his refusal to act cost him the French support. There is some speculation that the French financed several coups in order to remove Ngouabi in power. Starting in February 1973, the army began military operations in the Goma Tse-tse region to dismantle the M22 insurgency led by former army members led by Vice President [[Ange Diawara]]. During the same month, Ngouabi denounced another attempted Diawara coup and arrested 45 people, including Pascal Lissouba and Sylvain Bemba, Minister of Information. His trial took place from March 16 to 23. Several sentences were pronounced, while Lissouba was acquitted.

The M22 business abruptly ended on April 24, 1973, with the capture and execution of the maquis. The bodies of Diawara, Ikoko and Bakekolo were toured around Brazzaville and exhibited by Ngouabi in person during a popular gathering held at the Stade de la Révolution. The lack of consideration for the lifeless bodies of the Maquis caused considerable disapproval nationally due to the cultural sensitivity surrounding the reverential treatment of dead bodies.<ref>{{cite book|author=Bouekassa |title=Crimes de sang et pouvoir au Congo Brazzaville: Les assassinats de Lazare Matsokota, Joseph Pouabou, Anselme MassouÃ©mÃ©, Ange Diawara, Marien Ngouabi et Pierre Anga (Etudes africaines) : Massema, Albert Roger: Amazon.es: Libros |publisher= |date= |id={{ASIN|2747589536|country=es}} }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://zenga-mambu.com/2017/02/05/il-etait-une-fois-ange-diawara/|title = Il était une fois Ange Diawara – Zenga-Mambu| date=6 February 2017 }}</ref> He visited the [[People's Republic of China]] in July 1973.

Ngouabi was re-elected to his post as Chairman of the PCT Central Committee on December 30, 1974; he was additionally elected as Permanent Secretary of the PCT. He was then sworn in as president for another term on January 9, 1975.<ref>[http://www.keesings.com/search?kssp_selected_tab=article&kssp_a_id=26964n01cog "Feb 1975 - CONGO"], Keesing's Record of World Events, Volume 21, February, 1975 Congo, Page 26964.</ref> Also in 1975, he signed an economic aid pact with the [[Soviet Union]].

On March 23, Lieutenant General Pierre Kinganga, in exile in [[Kinshasa]] in neighbouring [[Zaire]] since his alleged June 1969 coup attempt, disembarked in Brazzaville at the head of a commando attempting to overthrow the regime. His attempt failed and he was shot dead near the national radio station he had just taken. His body and that of his command members who fell with him remained exposed for a long time in front of the radio building. Several enthusiastic young supporters who had joined Kinganga's column were also armed.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://n3k6.wordpress.com/tag/pierre-kinganga/|title = Pierre Kinganga}}</ref> Captain Augustin Poignet, also involved, managed to escape to Kinshasa. A week later, 3 accomplices (Miawouama, Nkoutou and Mengo), sentenced by a court-martial, were executed. The command members and accomplices in the army and gendarmerie were convicted by the revolutionary court. After the events, Marien Ngouabi denounced the involvement of the CIA and President [[Mobutu Sese Seko]] of Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo) in the coup.

Following this attempt, the PCT met in an extraordinary congress from March 30 to April 2, 1970. The Political Bureau was expanded to 10 members, to the benefit of Ambroise Noumazalaye and Captain Sassou N'Guesso. The Gendarmerie, whose loyalty was not complete during the events, was dissolved and its members joined the army. The Council of State was reorganized.

On August 29, 1970, former Minister Stéphane-Maurice Bongo-Nouarra was arrested for a counter-revolutionary conspiracy. He was sentenced to 10 years of forced labour.

===Assassination===
On March 18, 1977, at 14:30 hours,<ref name="DOSSIER DE DIGITAL CAFE2008"/> President Ngouabi was assassinated. Those accused of taking part in the assassination were tried and some were executed including [[Alphonse Massamba-Débat|Massamba-Débat]].

In the aftermath of the assassination, the [[Military Committee of the Congolese Labour Party|Military Committee of the Party]] (CMP) was named to head an interim government with the conservative Colonel [[Joachim Yhombi-Opango]] to serve as Head of State.