Azarias Ruberwa

Who is Azarias Ruberwa?

Azarias Ruberwa Manywa was one of four vice-presidents in the transitional government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo between 2003-2006. He has been president of the Rassemblement Congolais pour la Démocratie since 2003. He was an unsuccessful candidate for president in 2006. Former U.S. Presidential speechwriter John Shosky recently ranked Ruberwa 6th on a list of the top greatest global political speakers. The list also included other notable politicians such as former British PM Tony Blair and U.S. President Barack Obama.

His Excellency is a member of the Banyamulenge community of South Kivu who belong to the tutsi tribe.

Ruberwa trained as a lawyer at the University of Lubumbashi. He also practiced law in Lubumbashi before the AFDL war in 1996. After losing the presidential election in 2006, he became a member of the bar in Kinshasa and reopened his law practice.

Ruberwa is currently on the board of Mercy Ships, and serves as the senior advisor to his own family's NGO Congo Family Restoration. As of March 2012, they had added 50 more orphans in Goma to the already 50 orphans in Kinshasa that they help support. Ruberwa has recently been an honorary guest speaker at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Liberty University and University of St. Thomas.