Michel Micombero

Michel Micombero
1st President of Burundi
In office 28 November 1966 – 1 November 1976
Succeeded by	Jean-Baptiste Bagaza
Prime Minister of Burundi
In office 11 July 1966 – 28 November 1966
Succeeded by	post abolished
Personal details
Born	1940
Died	July 16, 1983 Somalia
Political party	Union for National Progress (UPRONA)

Michel Micombero (1940–July 16, 1983) was the first President of Burundi from November 28, 1966 to November 1, 1976. He was member of the Tutsi ethnicity.

In the years after independence, Burundi had seen a rapid descent into anarchy. The king Mwambutsa IV rapidly changed the Prime Minister as anti-Tutsi forces threatened to unleash the same violence as had hit Rwanda. On October 18, 1965, Hutu leader Gervais Nyangoma launched a coup, ousting the king. Soon afterward the largely Hutu police force, under the control of Antoine Serkwavu, began to massacre Tutsis in some parts of the country.

Michel Micombero was a young Tutsi army captain who had been born in Rutovu, Bururi Province. In 1965, he had only recently returned from school in Belgium and had quickly risen to become Secretary of Defense. He rallied the army, and its largely Tutsi officers, against the coup and overthrew them. This was followed by numerous attacks on Hutus throughout the nation.

Micombero became Prime Minister on July 11, 1966 and was the real power in the nation technically ruled by King Ntare V, who deposed his father with the help of Micombero. On November 28, 1966, Micombero overthrew the monarchy and made himself president.

As president, Micombero became an advocate of African socialism and received support from the People's Republic of China. He imposed a staunch regime of law and order, sharply repressing Hutu militarism.

In 1972, Hutu refugees from surrounding nations organized an uprising of Hutus in Burundi. This was repulsed and followed by organized ethnic violence that killed some 150,000 Hutus. Micombero unquestionably played a leading role in these massacres. Afterward, Micombero became increasingly corrupt, and also turned to heavy drinking. Some reports allege he became delusional. He was overthrown in 1976 in a coup by Deputy Chief of Staff Jean-Baptiste Bagaza, a distant relative of Micombero from the same clan and political faction.

Micombero went into exile in Somalia, where he died of a heart attack in 1983.

Political offices
Preceded by Ntare V Ndizeye	President of Burundi 1966–1976	Succeeded by Jean-Baptiste Bagaza

Persondata
Name	Micombero, Michel
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1940
Place of birth
Date of death	1983
Place of death	Somalia