Portal:Democratic Republic of the Congo/Selected biography

Selected biography/1

Antoine Koffi Olomide (born August 13, 1958), is a Congolese soukous singer, producer, and composer.

Born in Kisangani, Democratic Republic of the Congo to a Congolese father and Ghanaian mother, Koffi grew up in Kinshasa. He went to France to study where he earned a bachelor's degree in economics and a master's degree in mathematics from the University of Paris. While in Paris, he began playing the guitar and writing songs. On his return to Congo he was a member of Viva la Musica, Papa Wemba's band. Koffi repopularized the slower style of soukous, which had fallen out of fashion. He dubbed this style Tcha Tcho, and it gained popularity outside Congo. Koffi's music has been considered controversial, taking on current events and topics considered taboo in some conservative societies. He has also participated in the salsa music project Africando.. (continued...)
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Selected biography/2

Lomana Trésor LuaLua (/ləˈmɑːnə ˈtreɪzɔːr luːɑːluːˈɑː/; born 28 December 1980) is a footballer who plays for Greek side Olympiakos and the DR Congo national football team.

LuaLua was born in Kinshasa but moved to the United Kingdom at a young age. After impressing in a college football match, he signed for Colchester United. There he scored a total of 21 goals in 68 appearances which prompted Newcastle United to sign him. However, the competition for places meant he was less of a regular in the first team and after four seasons and 88 appearances there he transferred to Portsmouth, the club that had previously loaned him for three months while at Newcastle. He remained there for three seasons but his spell was marred by disciplinary problems and malaria. After this, he moved to Greek club Olympiakos and spent a season there, helping them to win their fourth straight Super League Greece title, before joining Al-Arabi in 2008. LuaLua received his first cap in 2002, and has since represented his national team in the 2004 and 2006 Africa Cup of Nations.

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Selected biography/3

Reverend William Henry Sheppard (1865–1927) was one of the earliest African Americans to become a missionary for the Presbyterian Church. He spent 20 years in Africa, primarily in and around the Congo Free State, and is best known for his efforts to publicize the atrocities committed against the Kuba and other Congolese peoples by King Leopold II's Force Publique.

Sheppard's efforts contributed to the contemporary debate on European colonialism and imperialism in the region, particularly amongst those of the African American community. However, it has been noted that he traditionally received little attention in literature on the subject.

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Selected biography/4

Marcel Antoine Lihau (29 September 1931 – 9 April 1999) was a Congolese politician, jurist, and law professor.

Lihau was born in the Belgian Congo. With the help of sympathetic Jesuit educators, he attended the Université catholique de Louvain in Belgium and became one of the first Congolese to study law. He served briefly as a justice official and negotiator for the Congolese central government after the country's independence, and was made dean of law faculty at Lovanium University in 1963. The following year he helped deliver the Luluabourg Constitution to the Congolese, which was adopted by referendum. In 1965 Joseph-Desiré Mobutu seized total control of the country and directed Lihau to produce a new constitution. Three years later Lihau was appointed First President of the new Supreme Court of Justice of the Congo. He retained the position, advocating for judicial independence, until his dismissal in 1975 when he refused to force a harsh sentence upon student protesters. Becoming increasingly opposed to the government, he helped found the reform-oriented Union pour la Démocratie et le Progrès Social. His health in decline, Lihau sought refuge from political persecution in the United States in 1985. He died there in 1999.

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Selected biography/5

Jean Bolikango (4 February 1909 – 17 February 1982) was a Congolese educator, writer, and conservative politician. He began his career in the Belgian Congo as a teacher in Catholic schools, and became a prominent member of Congolese society as the leader of a cultural association. He wrote an award-winning novel and worked as a journalist before turning to politics in the late 1950s. The "Republic of the Congo" became independent in 1960 and Bolikango attempted to organise a national political base that would support his bid for a prestigious office in the new government. He succeeded in establishing the Parti de l'Unité Nationale, but his attempts to secure a position in the government failed and he became a leading member of the opposition in Parliament.

As the country became embroiled in a domestic crisis, the first government was dislodged and succeeded by several different administrations. He served twice as Deputy Prime Minister, first in September 1960 and again from February to August 1962, before returning to the parliamentary opposition. After Joseph-Désiré Mobutu took power in 1965, Bolikango briefly served as a minister in his government. He left Parliament in 1975 and died seven years later.

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