Grégoire Kayibanda
Grégoire Kayibanda | |
|---|---|
Kayibanda in 1962 | |
| 1st President of Rwanda | |
| In office 26 October 1961 – 5 July 1973 | |
| Preceded by | Dominique Mbonyumutwa (Interim) |
| Succeeded by | Juvénal Habyarimana |
| 1st Prime Minister of Rwanda | |
| In office 19 October 1960 – 1 July 1962 | |
| President | Dominique Mbonyumutwa (Interim) |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Sylvestre Nsanzimana |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1 May 1924 Tare, Ruanda-Urundi |
| Died | 15 December 1976 (aged 52) unknown (possibly Kabgayi) |
| Cause of death | Reportedly starvation |
| Nationality | Rwandan |
| Political party | Parmehutu (Parti du Mouvement de l'Emancipation Hutu) |
| Spouse |
Vérédiana Mukagatare
(m. 1950) |
Grégoire Kayibanda (1 May 1924 – 15 December 1976) was a Rwandan politician and revolutionary who was the first elected President of Rwanda from 1962 to 1973. An ethnic Hutu, he was a pioneer of the Rwandan Revolution and led Rwanda's struggle for independence from Belgium, replacing the Tutsi monarchy with a republican form of government. Rwanda became independent from Belgium in 1962, with Kayibanda serving as the country's first president, establishing a pro-Hutu policy and a de facto one-party system governed by his party, Parmehutu. He was overthrown in a coup d'état in 1973 by his defense minister, Juvénal Habyarimana, and died three years later.