Burundi

Once a part of German East Africa, the land encompassing the Republic of Burundi (République du Burundi) became a Belgian mandate territory following the First World War, part of a suzerainty called Ruanda-Urundi. Belgium administrated the region, but allowed the continuation of traditional kingship dynasties for the next thirty years. In 1959, Burundi's ruler Mwami Mwambutsa IV requested that Ruanda-Urundi be dissolved into two seperate nations, Burundi and Rwanda, influenced to some extent by the instability and ethnic persecution that was happening in Rwanda, in which thousands of ethnic Tutsi had been slaughtered by the more numerous Hutu. In Burundi, meanwhile, many Hutu were killed in retaliation. The nation declared its independence in July 1962, officially changing its name to Burundi and naming Mwami Mwambutsa IV as monarch. Political discontent and ethnic violence continued, however, with sometimes brutal suppression of Hutu attacks, and Tutsi domination of the Army and the Police.

In 1966, the monarchy was abolished by the Prime Minister and the nation declared a republic, although in effect it was a military regime. A militant uprising by the Hutu dominated Umugambwe w'Abakozi b'Uburundi or Burundi Workers' Party (UBU) was brutally suppressed in 1972, with many Hutus fleeing to Rwanda and nearby Tanzania. In a bloodless coup in 1976, Colonel Jean-Baptiste Bagaza took power and promoted various reforms in attempt to quell the ethnic violence. Burundi continued as a one-party state, however, with political opponents being repressed under Bagaza.

Major Pierre Buyoya overthrew Bagaza in 1987, suspending the constitution, dissolving political parties, and reinstating military rule under the Military Committee for National Salvation (CSMN).