Lumumba Africa''s Lost Leader

An updated and revised biography of Patrice Lumumba, former Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Patrice Lumumba (1926-61) is perhaps the most famous leader of the African independence movement. He became an icon of anti-imperialist struggle after his execution in 1961, when he had been the prime minister of the newly liberated Congo for only seven months. As the news came out, his picture was brandished in demonstrations in capitals around the world, along with those of Che Guevara and Mao Zedong. His life and the independence that he sought for the Congo made him a pivotal figure of the twentieth century, exposing ongoing Western colonialism and the problematic nature of the independence granted to huge swathes of the globe after 1945.
In this book, revised and updated to include new thinking on the Congo crisis and incorporating material recently released from British intelligence archives, Leo Zeilig tells the story of the Congo in the dying days of colonialism and of Lumumba's transition from nationalist to revolutionary to international symbol of African liberation.

About the author

Leo Zeilig is a writer and researcher. He has written extensively on African politics and history, as well as biographies of some of Africa's most important political thinkers and revolutionaries. Zeilig is also a novelist and author of the critically acclaimed novel Eddie the Kid.

Product details

• Authors: Zeilig Leo, Leo Zeilig
• Assisted by: Yusuf Serunkuma (Foreword), Ludo de Witte (Afterword)
• Publisher: Haus Publishing
• Content: Book
• Product form: Paperback / Softback
• Publication date: 07.07.2026
• Subject: Non-fiction book > History > Biographies, autobiographies
• EAN: 9781913368777
• ISBN: 978-1-913368-77-7
• Pages: 204
• Age Recommendation: from age 16
• Series: Life & Times
• Subjects: Postwar 20th century history, from c 1945 to c 2000, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Historical, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Military, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Political, Biography: historical, political & military, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Process / General, HISTORY / Africa / General, Nationalist, POLITICAL SCIENCE / World / African, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Presidents & Heads of State, HISTORY / Africa / Central, Political leaders & leadership, Later 20th century c 1950 to c 1999, c 1950 to c 1959, African History, Biography: historical, political and military, Political leaders and leadership, C 1945 To C 1960, c 1945 to c 2000 (Post-war period), Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaire), Prime Minister, HISTORY / Modern / 20th Century / General, Democratic Republic of Congo, Revolutionary, Post-colonial Africa, African Liberation, Congo Independence, African Independence Movement, British intelligence archives, Congo crisis, Western colonialism, Anti-imperialist struggle