President Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has appointed Judith Suminwa as the country’s first female prime minister.
An economist, she succeeds Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde as prime minister following Tshisekedi’s landslide re-election as president on December 20.
Tshisekedi’s second-term inauguration in January sparked a lengthy search for a majority coalition in the National Assembly, a necessary step before naming a prime minister and forming a government.
“I acknowledge the significant responsibility… “We will work for peace and the country’s development,” Suminwa said on national television on Monday.
Tshisekedi officially triumphed with 73.47 percent of the vote in December, and the election passed largely peacefully in a country long torn by violence and instability.
The opposition branded the ballot a sham.
