<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobutu_Sese_Seko" id="mw3g" rel="mw:WikiLink" title="Mobutu Sese Seko">Joseph-Désiré Mobutu</a> seizes power in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_the_Congo_(Léopoldville)" id="mw3w" rel="mw:WikiLink" title="Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville)">Democratic Republic of the Congo</a> and becomes <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_presidents_of_the_Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo" id="mw4A" rel="mw:WikiLink" title="List of presidents of the Democratic Republic of the Congo">President</a>; he rules the country (which he renames <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaire" id="mw4Q" rel="mw:WikiLink" title="Zaire">Zaire</a> in 1971) for over 30 years, until being overthrown by rebels in 1997.