Marie-Antoinette Mobutu
Marie Antoinette-Mobutu (d. October 22, 1977), born Marie-Antoinette Gbiatibwa Gogbe Yetene, was the first wife of Zairian President Mobutu Sese Seko. A fellow Ngbandi, she married him in 1955, at the age of 14. The same year, she gave birth to their first son, Jean-Paul. She was and remains beloved by Zairians, even those who hate her husband, for her charitable contributions to the welfare of Zairian women and children, and for her famous outspokenness and stubbornness. She would not (and did not) hesitate to "chew out" the President, even in front of guests, and she is believed to have held some of his worst characteristics in check and exert a moderating influence over him. At one point during "radicalization" in the mid-1970s, she was tasked with overseeing all ministries relating to social welfare and the like. She also refused, in 1972, to adopt an "authentic" African name, preferring instead to keep the name Marie-Antoinette. She died of heart failure in 1977 in Genolier, Switzerland, at the age of 36. She bore a total of nine children. A vast mausoleum was erected in her memory. She is buried in the Gombe district of Kinshasa.
