
Judith Suminwa Tuluka
was sworn in early Wednesday as the first female prime minister of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Before the National
Assembly, the lower house of the DRC parliament, Tuluka and the other 54 new
government members officially took office after deputies approved Tuluka's
action programme with a required absolute majority.
Tuluka, while presenting
her action programme Tuesday afternoon, said she was proud to have broken the
"glass ceiling" as the first Congolese woman to serve the country as
prime minister.
"By assuming this
position, I am fully aware of the historical importance of this moment and the
symbolism of this appointment for the Congolese nation. I feel both the weight
of the responsibility on me and an immense pride in the idea of representing
within the Republic, the culmination of the efforts of all Congolese men and
women tending to break the famous 'glass ceiling'," noted Tuluka.
She promised to lay the
groundwork for an "emerging Congo" by creating around 2.6 million
jobs and an academy of mathematics and artificial intelligence in Kinshasa,
while laying out actions on national security, economic diversification, infrastructure
connectivity, public services, and climate change.
Holder of a master's
degree in applied economics from the Universite libre de Bruxelles of Belgium,
Tuluka was appointed state minister for Planning in March 2023. From 2020 to
2023, she also served as deputy coordinator of the Presidential Strategic Monitoring
Council, an agency affiliated with the presidential office.
This new government
unveiled on May 29, consists of 55 members, including the prime minister, six
deputy prime ministers, and 10 state ministers, compared to the 57 members in
the March 2023 reshuffle.