Judith Suminwa Tuluka

After endless negotiations within the political class and Parliament, on 1 April 2024, three months after the re-election of President Félix Tshisekedi, Judith Suminwa Tuluka finally became Prime Minister. She is the first woman to hold this position in this vast country, which is both extremely centralised and largely ungovernable. Through thick and thin, she leads a government of more than fifty ministers. Born on 19 October 1967 in the province of Kongo Central, this economist was initially tasked with confirming and building on ‘the achievements of the first presidential term’. However, the security situation quickly caught up with the new team. The country was plunged back into war in the east with the M23 rebellion and the fall of Goma and Bukavu. From the summit of the African Union to the podiums of the United Nations, from New York to Geneva, the PM defended her country's cause and the truth according to Kinshasa in numerous media appearances. All the while, she sought to mobilise domestic public opinion. In early March, she reminded the Council of Ministers of the government's obligation to meet the expectations of the population and maintain budgetary discipline. Officially the second-in-command of a severely weakened executive, she holds her head high.