The French colony of Gabon becomes independent with Léon M'ba as president

The French colony of Ubangi-Shari becomes independent and takes the name Central African Republic

The French Congo becomes independent as the republic of Congo, with Fulbert Youlou as president

Mobutu Sese Seko takes power in a military coup in the midst of chaos in the Congo

Patrice Lumumba, the dismissed prime minister of the Congo, is arrested on the orders of the army chief of staff, Mobutu Sese Seko

Patrice Lumumba is sent to Katanga, where he is murdered

The UN secretary general, Dag Hammarskjöld, dies in a plane crash while trying to secure peace in Katanga

Moise Tshombe's rebel regime in Katanga crumbles, and he flees to Spain

Mobutu stages his second coup in the Congo and this time takes power as president

Jean-Bedel Bokassa takes power in a coup in the Central African Republic

Spanish Guinea becomes an independent republic as Equatorial Guinea, with Francisco Macias Nguema as president

Mobutu gives the Congo a new name, Zaire, deriving from an African word for river

In a multi-million dollar ceremony, Jean-Bédel Bokassa proclaims himself emperor of the Central African Republic

French paratroops bring to an end the savage rule of Bokassa in the Central African Republic

More than a million Hutus, escaping from the backlash after the genocide in Rwanda, are in refugee camps in Zaire

After thirty-two years as the corrupt dictator of Zaire, Mobutu Sese Seko is driven out by Laurent Kabila

The name of Zaire is changed once again, reverting to the Democratic Republic of Congo

A UN peacekeeping force takes responsibility for maintaining order in the Central African Republic

Civil war breaks out again in the Congo, after a Tutsi uprising against Laurent Kabila's government

Neighbouring African nations, with an interest in Congo's mineral wealth, take part on both sides in a developing civil war

A peace plan signed in Lusaka brings to an end eleven months of renewed civil war in the Congo

Laurent Kabila, the president of the Congo, is assassinated in a failed coup attempt