Mwambutsa IV of Burundi

Mwambutsa IV
King of Burundi
Mwambutsa pictured with Yitzhak Ben Zvi during a visit to Israel in 1962
Reign	16 December 1915 – 8 July 1966
Coronation	16 December 1915
Predecessor	Mutaga IV Mbikije
Successor	Ntare V Ndizeye
Born	c.1912 Nyabiyogi, Burundi
Died	March 26, 1977(1977-03-26) (aged 64-65) Geneva, Switzerland
Issue	Charles Ndizeye (Ntare V) Rosa Paula Iribagiza
House	Ntwero
Father	Mutaga IV Mbikije
Mother	Princess Ngenzahago

Mwambutsa IV Bangiricenge (1912–77) was king (mwami) of Burundi who ruled between 1915 and 1966. He succeeded to the throne on the death of his father Mutaga IV Mbikije (r.1908–15).^[1] Like other Burundian kings, he was an ethnic Ganwa (Tutsi). Born while Burundi was under German colonial rule, Mwambutsa's reign mostly coincided with Belgian colonial rule (1916–62). The Belgians retained the monarchs of both Rwanda and Burundi under the policy of indirect rule.^[1]

Mwambutsa became king on 16 December 1915 when he was still an infant following the death of his father in a family dispute.^[1] Because of his age, a regency was declared. Several family members, including the Queen Mother Ririkumutima, served as regent and, in 1925, a full regency council was established.^[1] Mwambutsa became a ruler in his own right on 28 August 1929.^[1]

On the independence of Burundi in July 1962, Mwambutsa IV became the head of state of Burundi with far reaching political power. In Rwanda, the monarchy had been overthrown between 1959–62. He attempted to balance ethnic tensions between ethnic Hutu and Tutsi subjects by choosing his Prime Ministers from each ethnic group alternately.^[1] In October 1965, Hutu officers attempted a coup d'état against the monarchy. Despite their failure to take power, Mwambutsa fled into exile in the Republic of the Congo, eventually moving to Switzerland. In March 1966 he designated his only surviving son to exercise his powers on the spot. Still in exile, Mwambutsa was officially deposed in a second coup d'état and brought his son to power as Ntare V on 8 July 1966. The monarchy was finally abolished in a third coup in November 1966 and its Michel Micombero came to power as de facto dictator. Mwambutsa spent the rest of his life in Switzerland and died in 1977.^[1]

Mwambuta's remains were exhumed from their burial site in Switzerland in 2012 with a view to repatriating them to Burundi for a state funeral. After a legal battle, however, the remains were re-interred in Switzerland in accordance with his family's wishes.^[2]

References

Bibliography

• Chrétien, Jean-Pierre (2008). "Mwambutsa IV Bangiricenge". In Gates, Louis, Jr.; Akyeampong, Emmanuel K. Dictionary of African Biography. Oxford: Oxford University Press.