Zaire's President Mobutu Sese Seko flees the country on May 16, 1997, ending his 32-year rule and leading to the rise of Laurent Kabila, who declared himself declaring himself head of state and immediately changed the country's name from Zaire back to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Laurent Kabila was murdered on January 16, 2001 and his son, Joseph Kabila, became the next Congo president ruling the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for 18 years, until the first peaceful transfer of power in the country's history.
