Mobutu Sese Seko Nkuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga, born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, was president of Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) for 32 years (1965–1997). In 1965, Mobutu ousted Joseph Kasa-Vubu, the first freely elected president of the Republic of Congo, in a coup d'état and established a totalitarian regime during his long reign. Mobutu was born as a member of the Ngbandi ethnic group on October 14, 1930 in Lisala, Belgian Congo. His mother, Marie Madeleine Yemo, was a hotel maid who fled to Lisala from the harem of a local boss. Mobutu mastered the French language perfectly and learned to speak, write and read French. In 1965, Mobutu came to power in a coup and ruled Zaire for 32 years. He governed with American support and created a totalitarian system that tried to cleanse the country of all cultural influences of colonial rule. Mobutu's mismanagement of the economy and his personal enrichment through the exploitation of financial and natural resources made his name synonymous with kleptocracy (rule by thieves). Mobutu until 1997 was in power when he was removed in a rebellion. After that, Laurent-Désiré Kabila came to power. Mobutu Sese Seko's life and power caused a lot of controversy and he was one of the defining figures of African political history. Mobutu went into exile in Togo for a while, but mostly lived in Morocco. On the day he went into exile, Laurent-Désiré Kabila became the country's new president. Kabila was killed in 2001, under circumstances that are still unclear, and his son, Joseph Kabila, became the new president. Mobutu died of prostate cancer on September 7, 1997, while in exile in Rabat, Morocco. He was buried in the "Pax" Christian cemetery in Rabat. In December 2007, the National Assembly of the Democratic Republic of the Congo proposed that his remains be brought home and placed in a mausoleum. Mobutu was married twice. His first wife, Marie-Antoinette Mobutu, died of a heart attack on October 22, 1977, aged 36, in Genolier, Switzerland. On May 1, 1980, she married her former lover, Bobi Ladawa; the wedding II. It was on the eve of Pope John Paul II's visit, thereby legitimizing their relationship in the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church. His four sons from his first marriage, Nyiwa, Konga, Kongulu and Manda, are no longer alive.[35] One of his sons from his second marriage, François Joseph Nzanga Mobutu Ngbangawe, ran as a presidential candidate in the 2006 presidential election and is currently Minister of Agriculture. One of his daughters, Yakpwa, was briefly married to a Belgian man, and her husband, Pierre Janssen, later wrote a book about Mobutu's life. Mobutu had a total of 17 children.

President Mobutu Sese Seko ruled the Congo from 1965 to 1997, during which time he used the Congolese coinage system for his own political purposes. In 1965, President Mobutu introduced the Zairean franc, which replaced the former Belgian-Congolese franc. The Zairean franc was immediately devalued to reduce the country's cash shortage. President Mobutu then began using the Zairean franc to create his own political representation. In 1971, President Mobutu announced that the new name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo would be Zaire. At the same time, the Zairean franc was renamed to Zaires. Zairean banknotes and coins began to be decorated with portraits and mottos of President Mobutu. President Mobutu also used the Zairean coinage to finance his own corruption regime. The production of Zairean banknotes and coins brought significant sums of money to the government, which President Mobutu often used for his own purposes. After the fall of President Mobutu in 1997, the Zairean minting system collapsed. The Zaire of Zaire was banned and replaced by the Congolese franc. President Mobutu's coinage had many negative consequences for the Congo. Zaire's coinage system caused inflation and economic crisis in the country. And the production of Zaires notes and coins diverted significant sums of money from the Congolese government, which were used for corruption rather than development.