List of colonial governors of the Congo Free State and Belgian Congo
This is a list of European colonial administrators responsible for the territory of the Congo Free State and Belgian Congo (today the Democratic Republic of the Congo).
Belgian Congo (dark green) depicted with Belgian Ruanda-Urundi (light green), 1935.
International Association of the Congo
Prior to the creation of the Congo Free State, the International Association of the Congo (IAC) had signed treaties with over 300 native Congolese chiefs and in effect exercised sovereignty over a large area. The IAC was headquartered in Belgium and run by a committee under the presidency of Maximilien Strauch. Prior to the creation of the office of Administrator-General, authority on the ground in the Congo had been exercised by a Chief of Expedition, who until April 1884 was Henry Morton Stanley.[1]
| Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) |
Position | Term of Office | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took Office | Left Office | ||||
 |
Francis de Winton (1835–1901) |
Administrator-General | 22 April 1884 | 1 July 1885 | |
Congo Free State
Administrators-General / Governors-General
| Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) |
Position | Term of Office | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took Office | Left Office | ||||
|
Francis de Winton (1835–1901) |
Administrator-General | 1 July 1885 | April 1886 | |
 |
Camille Janssen (1837–1926) |
Administrator-General | April 1886 | 17 April 1887 | |
| Governor-General | 17 April 1887 | 1 July 1892 | [2] | ||
 |
Théophile Wahis (1844–1921) |
Governor-General | 1 July 1892 | 15 November 1908 | |
Vice Governors-General
| Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) |
Position | Term of Office | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took Office | Left Office | ||||
|
Camille Janssen (1837–1926) |
Vice Administrator-General | 25 September 1885 | April 1886 | |
 |
Herman Ledeganck (1841–1908) |
Vice Governor-General | 31 January 1888 | January 1889 | [3] |
| Henri Gondry (1845–1889) |
Acting Vice Governor-General | January 1889 | 18 May 1889 | [4] | |
 |
Camille Coquilhat (1853–1891) |
Vice Governor-General | 1890 | 24 March 1891 | [5] |
|
Théophile Wahis (1844–1921) |
Vice Governor-General | 15 April 1891 | 1 July 1892 | [6] |
 |
Francis Dhanis (1861–1909) |
Vice Governor-General | 4 September 1896 | 1897 | |
 |
Émile Wangermée (1855–1924) |
Vice Governor-General | 11 April 1897 | 1 December 1897 | |
 |
Alphonse van Gèle (1848–1939) |
Vice Governor-General | 1 December 1897 | 10 January 1899 | |
 |
Paul Costermans (1860–1905) |
Vice Governor-General | January 1904 | March 1905 | |
 |
Félix Fuchs (1858–1928) |
Governor-General ad interim | 25 December 1902 | 4 March 1904 | |
| Vice Governor-General | 1907 | 1908 | |||
| Albert Lantonnois van Rode (1852–1934) |
Vice Governor-General | May 1905 | 1906/7 | ||
Belgian Congo
| Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) |
Position | Term of Office | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took Office | Left Office | ||||
|
Théophile Wahis (1844–1921) |
Governor-General | 15 November 1908 | 20 May 1912 | |
|
Félix Fuchs (1858–1928) |
Governor-General | 20 May 1912 | 5 January 1916 | |
| Eugène Henry (1862–1930) |
Governor-General | 5 January 1916 | 30 January 1921 | ||
 |
Maurice Lippens (1875–1956) |
Governor-General | 30 January 1921 | 24 January 1923 | |
| Martin Rutten (1876–1944) |
Governor-General | 24 January 1923 | 27 December 1927 | ||
| Auguste Tilkens (1869–1949) |
Governor-General | 27 December 1927 | 14 September 1934 | ||
 |
Pierre Ryckmans (1891–1959) |
Governor-General | 14 September 1934 | 31 December 1946 | |
| Eugène Jungers (1888–1958) |
Governor-General | 31 December 1946 | 1 January 1952 | ||
| Léo Pétillon (1903–1996) |
Governor-General | 1 January 1952 | 12 July 1958 | ||
 |
Hendrik Cornelis (1910–1999) |
Governor-General | 12 July 1958 | 30 June 1960 | |
On 1 July 1960, the Belgian Congo became independent as the Republic of the Congo (République du Congo).
See also
Notes
- Boulger 1898, pp. 258–59.
- Janssens & Cateaux 1908, p. 20. Janssen continued as an Honorary Governor-General until his death.
- Janssens & Cateaux 1908, p. 163. He left for the Congo on 6 February 1888 and returned to Europe on 19 May 1889.
- Janssens & Cateaux 1908, p. 165. He left for the Congo on 6 January 1889 to replace Ledeganck.
- Janssens & Cateaux 1908, p. 48. He embarked for the Congo on 28 March 1890 and was named Vice Governor-General shortly after his arrival.
- Janssens & Cateaux 1908, p. 28. He was appointed Vice Governor-General on 19 November 1890, but did not arrive to take over his post until 15 April 1891.
References
- Boulger, Demetrius Charles (1898). The Congo State: Or, The Growth of Civilisation in Central Africa. London: W. Thacker & Co.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Gann, Lewis H.; Duignan, Peter (1979). The Rulers of Belgian Africa, 1884–1914. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Henige, David P. (1970). Colonial Governors from the Fifteenth Century to the Present: A Comprehensive List. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Janssens, Édouard; Cateaux, Albert (1908). Les Belges au Congo: notices biographiques. Antwerp: J. van Hille-De Backer.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
External links
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