is_a_list_of list of heads of state of the democratic republic of the congo
France , officially the French Republic , is a ___MASK29___ with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories . The European , or metropolitan , area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea , and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean . Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several ___MASK60___ territories in the Atlantic , Pacific and Indian oceans . France spans and had a total population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017 . It is a unitary semi - presidential republic with the ___MASK47___ in Paris , the ___MASK29___ ' s largest ___MASK93___ and main cultural and commercial centre . Other major urban centres include Marseille , Lyon , Lille , Nice , Toulouse and Bordeaux . The United ___MASK65___ and Northern Ireland , commonly known as the United Kingdom ( UK ) or Britain , is a sovereign country in western Europe . Lying off the north - western coast of the European mainland , it includes the island of Great Britain ( the name of which is also loosely applied to the whole country ), the north - eastern part of the island of Ireland , and many smaller islands . Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that shares a land border with another sovereign statethe Republic of Ireland . Apart from this land border , the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean , with the North Sea to its east , the English Channel to its south and the Celtic Sea to its south - south - west , giving it the 12th - longest coastline in the world . The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland . With an area of , the UK is the 78th - largest ___MASK18___ in the world and the 11th - largest in Europe . It is also the 21st - most populous country , with an estimated 65 . 1 million inhabitants . Together , this makes it the fourth most densely populated country in the European Union . ___MASK41___ is a generic term used for either the highest or second highest official in the executive branch of a ___MASK18___ , a federated state , or a self - governing colony , ( commonly referred to as countries , nations or nation - states ) who often presides over a cabinet , a group of ministers or secretaries who lead executive departments . The term " head of government " is often differentiated from the term " head of state ", ( e . g . as in article 7 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties , article 1 of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Internationally Protected Persons , including Diplomatic Agents and the United Nations protocol list ), as they may be separate positions , individuals , and / or roles depending on the country . Africa is the world ' s second - largest and second - most - populous continent . At about 30 . 3 million km² ( 11 . 7 million ___MASK62___ miles ) including adjacent islands , it covers 6 % of Earth ' s total surface area and 20 . 4 % of its total land area . With 1 . 1 billion people as of 2013 , it accounts for about 15 % of the world ' s human population . The continent is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the north , both the Suez Canal and the Red Sea along the Sinai Peninsula to the northeast , the Indian Ocean to the southeast , and the Atlantic Ocean to the west . The continent includes Madagascar and various archipelagos . It contains 54 fully recognized sovereign states ( countries ), nine territories and two " de facto " independent states with limited or no recognition . Uganda ( or ), officially the Republic of Uganda , is a landlocked ___MASK29___ in East Africa . It is bordered to the east by Kenya , to the north by South Sudan , to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo , to the south - west by Rwanda , and to the south by Tanzania . Uganda is the world ' s second most populous landlocked ___MASK29___ after Ethiopia . The southern part of the ___MASK29___ includes a substantial portion of ___MASK24___ Victoria , shared with Kenya and Tanzania . Uganda is in the African Great Lakes region . Uganda also lies within the Nile basin , and has a varied but generally a modified equatorial climate . A ___MASK29___ is a region that is identified as a distinct national ___MASK55___ in political geography . A ___MASK29___ may be an independent ___MASK18___ or one that is occupied by another state , as a non - sovereign or formerly sovereign political division , or a geographic region associated with sets of previously independent or differently associated people with distinct political characteristics . Regardless of the physical geography , in the modern internationally accepted legal definition as defined by the League of Nations in 1937 and reaffirmed by the United Nations in 1945 , a resident of a ___MASK29___ is subject to the independent exercise of legal jurisdiction . Central Africa is a core region of the African continent which includes Burundi , the Central African Republic , Chad , the Democratic Republic of the Congo , and Rwanda . Middle Africa ( as used by the United Nations when categorising geographic subregions ) is an analogous ___MASK92___ that includes Angola , Cameroon , the Central African Republic , Chad , the Republic of the Congo , the Democratic Republic of the Congo , Equatorial Guinea , Gabon , and São Tomé and Príncipe . All of the states in the UN subregion of Middle Africa , plus those otherwise commonly reckoned in Central Africa ( 11 states in total ), constitute the Economic Community of Central African States ( ECCAS ). Since its independence in 2011 , South Sudan has also been commonly included in the region . Joseph Kabila Kabange ( known commonly as Joseph Kabila , born 4 June 1971 ) is a Congolese ___MASK84___ who has been ___MASK6___ since January 2001 . He took office ten days after the assassination of his father , President Laurent - Désiré Kabila . He was elected as President in 2006 . In 2011 , he was re - elected for a second term . Burundi ( or ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( or ), is a landlocked ___MASK29___ in the African Great Lakes region of East Africa , bordered by Rwanda to the north , Tanzania to the east and south , and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west . It is also considered part of Central Africa . Burundi ' s ___MASK47___ is Bujumbura . The southwestern border is adjacent to Lake Tanganyika . Rwanda ( or ), officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a ___MASK18___ in central and east Africa and one of the smallest countries on the African mainland . Located a few degrees south of the Equator , Rwanda is bordered by Uganda , Tanzania , Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo . Rwanda is in the African Great Lakes region and is highly elevated ; its geography is dominated by mountains in the west and savanna to the east , with numerous lakes throughout the country . The climate is temperate to subtropical , with two rainy seasons and two dry seasons each year . Tanzania , officially the United Republic of Tanzania , is a ___MASK29___ in Eastern Africa within the African Great Lakes region . Parts of the ___MASK29___ are in Southern Africa . It is bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north ; Rwanda , Burundi , and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west ; Zambia , Malawi , and Mozambique to the south ; and by the Indian Ocean to the east . Mount Kilimanjaro , Africa ' s highest ___MASK68___ , is in northeastern Tanzania . Kinshasa ( formerly Leopoldville ( or Dutch )) is the ___MASK47___ and the largest ___MASK93___ of the Democratic Republic of the Congo . It is on the Congo River . This is the list of the Heads of ___MASK90___ of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ( formerly Zaire ) since independence in 1960 . The current head of ___MASK90___ is President Joseph Kabila , since 17 January 2001 . The ___MASK6___ , is Congo ' s elected head of state , and the " ex officio " " supreme commander " ( commander - in - chief ) of the armed forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ( FARDC ). A ___MASK18___ is , in international law , a nonphysical juridical entity that is represented by one centralised government that has sovereignty over a geographic area . International law defines sovereign states as having a permanent population , defined territory , one government , and the capacity to enter into relations with other sovereign states . It is also normally understood that a ___MASK18___ is neither dependent on nor subjected to any other power or state . Zaire , officially the Republic of Zaire was the ___MASK88___ , between 1971 and 1997 , of a ___MASK90___ in Central Africa which was later renamed the Democratic Republic of the Congo , after the end of the Mobutu Sese Seko era . The ___MASK90___ ' s ___MASK88___ derived from the ___MASK88___ of the Congo River , sometimes called " Zaire " in Portuguese , adapted from the Kongo word " nzere " or " nzadi " (" river that swallows all rivers "). The Democratic Republic of the Congo , also known as DR Congo , DRC , DROC , East Congo , Congo - Kinshasa , or simply the Congo is a ___MASK29___ located in Central Africa . From 1971 to 1997 it was named , and is sometimes still called Zaire , and from 1908 to 1960 it was called the Belgian Congo . The DRC borders the Central African Republic , and South Sudan to the north ; Uganda , Rwanda , Burundi and Tanzania to the east ; Zambia and Angola to the south ; the Republic of the Congo to the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the southwest . It is the second - largest ___MASK29___ in Africa by area and eleventh largest in the world . With a population of over 80 million , the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the most populated officially Francophone ___MASK29___ , the fourth most - populated nation in Africa and the eighteenth most populated ___MASK29___ in the world . Angola , officially the Republic of Angola (; Kikongo , Kimbundu and Umbundu : " Repubilika ya Ngola "), is a ___MASK29___ in Southern Africa . It is the seventh - largest ___MASK29___ in Africa and is bordered by Namibia to the south , the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north and east , Zambia to the east , and the Atlantic Ocean to west . The exclave province of Cabinda has borders with the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo . The ___MASK47___ and largest ___MASK93___ of Angola is Luanda . Laurent - Désiré Kabila ( November 27 , 1939  January 16 , 2001 ), or simply Laurent Kabila , was ___MASK6___ from May 17 , 1997 , when he overthrew Mobutu Sese Seko , until his assassination by one of his bodyguards on January 16 , 2001 . He was succeeded eight days later by his son Joseph . A head of ___MASK90___ ( or chief of ___MASK90___ ) is the public persona that officially represents the national unity and legitimacy of a ___MASK18___ . In developing the current Constitution of France ( 1958 ), former French president Charles de Gaulle said the head of ___MASK90___ should embody " the spirit of the nation " (""). In some countries , typically those with parliamentary governments , the head of ___MASK90___ is a ceremonial figurehead that does not actually guide day - to - day government activities and may not even be empowered to exercise any kind of political authority ( e . g ., Queen Elizabeth II in the United Kingdom ). In other countries , the head of ___MASK90___ is also the head of government , such as in the U . S ., where the president is both a public figurehead and the actual highest ranking political leader who , in practice , oversees the executive branch . The Republic of the Congo , also known as the Congo Republic , West Congo , Congo - Brazzaville or simply Congo , is a ___MASK29___ located in Central Africa . It is bordered by five countries : Gabon and the Atlantic Ocean to the west ; Cameroon to the northwest ; the Central African Republic to the northeast ; the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the east and south ; and the Angolan exclave of Cabinda to the southwest . Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle ( 22 November 1890  9 November 1970 ) was a French general and statesman . He was the leader of Free France ( 1940  44 ) and the head of the Provisional Government of the French Republic ( 1944  46 ). In 1958 , he founded the Fifth Republic and was elected as the 18th ___MASK7___ of France , a position he held until his resignation in 1969 . He was the dominant figure of France during the Cold ___MASK57___ era and his memory continues to influence French politics . The Republic of Zambia is a landlocked ___MASK29___ in Southern Africa , neighbouring the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north , Tanzania to the north - east , Malawi to the east , Mozambique , Zimbabwe , Botswana and Namibia to the south , and Angola to the west . The ___MASK47___ ___MASK93___ is Lusaka , in the south - central part of Zambia . The population is concentrated mainly around Lusaka in the south and the Copperbelt Province to the northwest , the core economic hubs of the ___MASK29___ . The Central African Republic ( CAR ; Sango : " Ködörösêse tî Bêafrîka "; , or "" ) is a landlocked ___MASK29___ in Central Africa . It is bordered by Chad to the north , Sudan to the northeast , South Sudan to the east , the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo to the southwest and Cameroon to the west . The CAR covers a land area of about and had an estimated population of around 4 . 7 million . The Congo ___MASK75___ ( also known as the Zaire ___MASK75___ ) is a ___MASK75___ in Africa . It is the second largest ___MASK75___ in the world by discharge ( after the Amazon ), and the world ' s deepest ___MASK75___ with measured depths in excess of . The Congo - Chambeshi ___MASK75___ has an overall length of , which makes it the ninth - longest ___MASK75___ ( in terms of discharge , the Chambeshi is a tributary of the Lualaba ___MASK75___ , Lualaba being the ___MASK88___ of the Congo ___MASK75___ upstream of the Boyoma Falls , extending for 1 , 800 km ). Measured along the Lualaba , the Congo ___MASK75___ has a total length of . It crosses the equator twice . The Congo Basin has a total area of about 4 million km , or 13 % of the entire African landmass . A ___MASK7___ is the leader of a country or a division or part of a country , typically a republic , a democracy , or a dictatorship . The ___MASK27___ " ___MASK7___ " is sometimes used by extension for leaders of other groups , including corporate entities and social groups . In politics , a figurehead is a ___MASK3___ who holds " de jure " ( in name or by law ) an important ___MASK27___ or office ( often supremely powerful ), yet " de facto " ( in reality ) executes little actual power . The metaphor derives from the carved figurehead at the prow of a sailing ship . Commonly cited figureheads include Queen Elizabeth II , who is Queen of sixteen Commonwealth realms and head of the Commonwealth , but has no power over the nations in which she is not head of ___MASK90___ and does not exercise power in her own realms on her own initiative . Other figureheads are the ___MASK53___ of Japan , the King of Sweden , or presidents in majority of parliamentary republics , such as the President of India , President of Israel , President of Bangladesh , President of Greece , President of Germany , President of Pakistan ( starting in 2010 ), and President of China ( without CPC General Secretary and Chairman of CMC posts ). Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu Wa Za Banga ( 14 October 1930  7 September 1997 ), born Joseph - Désiré Mobutu , was the military dictator and ___MASK6___ ( which Mobutu renamed Zaire in 1971 ) from 1965 to 1997 . He also served as Chairperson of the Organisation of African Unity in 1967  1968 .