Leaders

//**__Political Parties:__**// Born: May 1, 1924 Died: December 15, 1976 Elected: October 26, 1961 Left Office: July 5, 1973 Ethnicity: Hutu Political Party: MDR-Parmehutu Important Notes: Led the struggle to become independent from Belgium and replaced the Tutsi monarch with a republic. Overthrown in 1973 by his defense minister, Juvénal Habyarimana, in what was described as a "bloodless military coup", but really around fifty five people, including lawyers, businessmen and officials close to the Kayibanda regime were killed. Their families were paid for their silence and Kayibanda and his wife were starved to death in a secret location. Kayibanda and Habyarimana were cousins.
 * __MDR-Parmehutu:__ Democratic Republican Movement, or //Mouvement Démocratique Republicain// in French. Party of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Hutu, founded as Parmehutu in 1959, renamed in 1960. Current state: Defunct
 * __MRND__: Mouvement Révolutionaire National pour le Développement in French, also known as the National Republican Movement for Democracy and Development. The MRND was founded 1975 as National Revolutionary Movement for Development, and renamed 1991. Current state: Defunct
 * FPR: Rwandan Patriotic Front, or //Front Patriotique Rwandais// in French. Formed in 1987 by Tutsi refugees in Uganda, who had fled there to escape ethnic persecution. The FPR, or RPF, brought an end to the 1994 Rwandan genocide, saving tens of thousands of Tutsi people, relentlessly persuing those who they thought were guilty of committing genocide. The FPR killed thousands in order to gain political dominance and to bring an end to the genocide, showing that they were willing to use great force. Current state: Ruling party of Rwanda.
 * //__Grégoire Kayibanda__//**

Born: March 8, 1937 Died: April 6, 1994 Elected: July 5, 1973 Left Office: April 6, 1994 Ethnicity: Hutu Political Party: military/MRND Important Notes: Hutu supporter, supported Hutus in neighboring country Burundi, against Tutsi government. Overthrew Gregoire Kayibanda and destroyed the Parmehutu party, and was the leader of the " Mouvement Révolutionaire National pour le Développement ", or the MRND. Habyarimana died in a plane crash on April 6, 1994, when the plane was shot down, both Habyarimana and his Burundi counterpart, Cyprian Ntayamira were killed. The group responsible for the plane crash is still disputed about, some believing that it was shot down on the orders of Paul Kagame, leader of the Rwandanese Patriotic Front (RPF). Habyarimana's death sparked the Rwandan Genocide, which resulted in the death of around 800,000 Tutsi.
 * //__Juvénal Habyarimana__//**

__**//Théodore Sindikubwabo//**__ Born: 1928 Died: Late 1990's Elected: April 9, 1994 Left Office: July 19, 1994 Ethnicity: Hutu Political Party: MRND Important Notes: Interim president during the Rwandan Genocide.

__//**Pasteur Bizimungu**//__ Born: 1950 Died: N/A Elected: July 19, 1994 Left Office: March 24, 2000 Political Party: FPR Ethnicity: Hutu Important Notes: An ethnic Hutu, Bizimungu worked with the MRND until 1990, when his brother, a colonel in the Rwandan Armed Forces, was assassinated, possibly on the orders of the government. Following his brother's death, Bizimungu went on to join the primarily Tutsi Rwandan Patriotic Front, also referred to as the FPR, from the french name for it, //Front Patriotique Rwandais//. The RPF leader, Tutsi Paul Kagame, was chosen vice-president, and Bizimungu was chosen President so that the majority Hutus would still be highly represented in the government. Eventually, Bizimungu and Kagame came into conflict over the government's policies, which Bizimungu viewed as a growing crack down on dissent. Bizimungu resigned in 2000, making Kagame president. Bizimungu then went on to create the Party for Democratic Renewal, an opposition to the current government. The group was almost immediately banned for being a radical Hutu party. Placed on house arrest in 2002 for continuing the operations of the party and charged with inciting violence, attempting to form a militia, and embezzlement in 2004, which resulted in his being sentenced to 15 years in prison, 5 for each crime. Bizimungu was pardoned by Kagame and released on April 6, 2007.

Born: October 23, 1957 Died: N/A Elected: Mar 24, 2000 Left Office: N/A Political Party: FPR Ethnicity: Tutsi Important Notes: Current leader of Rwanda, first Tutsi born president of Rwanda. Responsible for ending the genocide, Kagame helped to rebuild the country while Bizimungu was president. Elected president himself in 2000, Kagame is renowned for listening to his opposition, rather than silencing them. Kagame is also extremely against corruption, and does not allow any government worker to accept any form of bribery and get away with it. Those that are caught are publicly exposed and "dealt with", presumably with jailing.
 * //__Paul Kagame__//**

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