Joseph Bamina
Joseph Bamina (1925– 15 December 1965) was a Burundian politician and member of the Union for National Progress (French: Union pour le Progrès national) (UPRONA) party.[1] Bamina was Prime Minister from 26 January to 30 September 1965,[2] and President of the Senate of Burundi in 1965.[3] He and other leaders of the government[4] were assassinated on 15 December 1965,[1] by Tutsi soldiers during a reprisal effort to stop a coup by Hutu officers.[4]
Life and work
Bamina was a Hutu who was trained at university[5] at a time when the colonial powers of German and Belgium had given most opportunities to Tutsis, limiting Hutus to training for the Catholic priesthood.[4]
In 1961, Burundi held elections to determine the post colonial government with the multi-ethnic UPRONA party winning 90% of the seats which were shared between Hutus and Tutsis.[4] In 1962, the Tutsi monarch (the Mwami)[1] decreed that UPRONA leadership would be determined by an election from the rank and file members of the party, and Bamina was elected the party president.[6] The vice president of the party, Paul Mirerekano, had hoped to win the position of president and he refused to participate with the other leaders of the party, instead leading a split in the party which became known as the Monrovia group and consisted of most of the Hutu members (the remaining Tutsi wing identified as Casablanca).[6]
The Monrovia faction recognized the People's Republic of China in 1964, contrary to the desires of the Mwami.[5] In January 1965, the Mwami tapped Pierre Ngendandumwe, a Hutu, to form a new government as Prime Minister,[4] in part because of his stance against Chinese and communist influence in the country.[7] Ngendandumwe was assassinated by Tutsis shortly thereafter, and on 24 January,[8] Bamina was named temporary Prime Minister and national elections were slated for the spring.[4] As Prime Minister, Bamina cut off relations with communist China on 30 January and ordered the Chinese diplomatic staff out of the country,[9][10] with government troops surrounding the Chinese embassy.[7]
The Hutus won the May elections, garnering 80% of the seats.[11]
Bamina was elected President of the Senate on 4 September.[12] After the Mwami overruled the senate's selection of a Hutu as prime minister and instead appointed a Tutsi [4] Hutu officers in the army staged a coup in October,[13] but Tutsi soldiers countered and executed many of the Hutu members of the government, including Bamina on 15 December 1965. [4]
Bamina had been married a Tutsi woman.[5] His widow, Mary Roche Bamina, is president of the Bamina Foundation.[14]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://homepage.mac.com/trondsc/Burundi/History/1.Dates.html
- ↑ http://www.senat.bi/spip.php?page=en_bg_scm
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://www.baminafoundation.9f.com/
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Burundi 1965 |
Succeeded by Léopold Biha |
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