Simple directory > Regional > Rwanda

Country :Rwanda Official name: Republika y'u Rwanda (Republic of Rwanda) Head of State: President Paul Kagame (FPR) (the first Tutsi to hold presidential office since Rwanda became independent in 1961; officially elected president 17 Apr 2000; re-elected 25 Aug 2003) Ruling party: Front Patriotique Rwandais (FPR) (Rwanda Patriotic Front) (Tutsi-dominated) (elected 29--30 Sep 2003) Area: 26,338 square km Population: 8.59 million (2004) Capital: Kigali Official language: Kinyarwanda, French and English. Currency: Rwanda franc (Rwf) Exchange rate: Rwf555.45 per US$ (Nov 2004) GDP per capita: US$242 (2003) GDP real growth: 3.20% (2003) Labour force: 4.60 million (2003) Inflation: 4.70% (2003) Balance of trade: -US$185.00 million (2003) Foreign debt: US$1.30 billion (2003) Visitor numbers: 16,000 (annually)* * estimated figure

Historical profile

1899 Rwanda, which for a long time had been an independent monarchy, was absorbed into German East Africa.

1916 It was taken over by Belgium, along with what is now Burundi.

1918 After the First World War ended, the two became Ruanda-Urundi, a Belgian-administered trust territory of the League of Nations (and later, the UN).

1950s Belgian missionaries encouraged the formation of a modern Hutu identity.

1961 Rwanda's monarchy was abolished and a republic was proclaimed.

1962 Independence was granted.

1963 A massacre killed about 20,000 people, mostly Tutsis, causing many to emigrate to Uganda.

1973 Rwanda was run by President Gregoire Kayibanda, who was overthrown by Major General Juvenal Habyarimana.

1990 Some 10,000 guerrillas (Tutsi-dominated) entered Rwanda from Uganda and occupied several towns.

1994 The death of President Habyarimana in a plane crash triggered the breakdown of civil society. About one million people may have died in the genocide of the minority Tutsis by the majority Hutus.

President Pasteur Bizimungu and a transitional coalition government were sworn in.

1998 The United Nations Human Rights Field Office in Rwanda (HRFOR) was withdrawn when its mandate was not renewed.

1999 The extension of the transitional government's term of office for another four years was approved by the cabinet. A draft constitution was promised.

2000 Pasteur Bizimungu resigned as president and Paul Kagame was officially elected president in a joint vote of the Rwandan legislature and cabinet.

2001 A peace agreement was signed by Rwanda and Uganda in London. A new national flag, emblem and anthem were unveiled.

2002 The presidents of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) signed a peace deal -- the first step towards ending the DRC's four-year war.

2003 In a May referendum, voters approved a new, more democratic constitution; critics said it would be hard to unseat the ruling party under the new constitution. Incumbent Paul Kagame won the August presidential elections and the ruling party, Front Patriotique Rwandais (FPR) (Rwanda Patriotic Front), won the parliamentary elections.

2004 In March, President Kagame denied that in 1994, he ordered the attack on the president's plane, which sparked the genocide. Former president Pasteur Bizimungu was sentenced in June to 15 years in jail for embezzlement, inciting violence and associating with criminals.

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