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[[File:Colonel_Mobutu.jpg|thumbnail|300px250px|left|Colonel Mobutu watches Lumumba's transport to Thysville in 1960.]]
The decolonization of Sub-Saharan Africa from the late 1950s to the mid-1970s resulted in several proxy Cold War confrontations between the United States and the Soviet Union over the dozens of newly independent, non-aligned nations. The first such confrontation occurred in the former Belgian Congo, which gained its independence on June 30, 1960.
====Conclusion====
Despite periodic uprisings and unrest, Mobutu ruled the Congo (renamed Zaire in 1971) until the mid-1990s. Viewed as mercurial and occasionally irrational, Mobutu nonetheless proved to be a staunch ally against Communist encroachment in Africa. As such, he received extensive U.S. financial, matériel, and political support, which increased his stature in much of Sub-Saharan Africa where he often served the interests of administrations from Johnson through Reagan.
<div class="portal" style='float:left; width:35%'>====Related Articles===={{#dpl:category=Cold War History|ordermethod=firstedit|order=descending|count=10}}</div>
* Republished from [https://history.state.gov/| Office of the Historian, United States Department of State]
* Article: [https://history.state.gov/milestones/1961-1968/congo-decolonization| The Congo, Decolonization, and the Cold War, 1960–1965]
[[Category:US State Department]] [[Category:Wikis]][[Category:United States History]] [[Category: African History]] [[Category:20th Century History]] [[Category:Cold War History]] [[Category:Diplomatic History]]
