Mwambutsa IV

Mwambutsa IV Bangiricenge ascended the drum throne of the Kingdom of Burundi in 1915 at the age of three, following the death of his father Mwami Mutaga IV. Reigned under a regency council during World War I and Belgian occupation, he was formally invested with full royal authority in 1931.

Throughout five decades of turbulent colonial transformation, Mwambutsa used remarkable traditional prestige and diplomatic skill to maintain the cohesion of Burundi's society. On July 1, 1962, he solemnly proclaimed Burundi's sovereign independence as a constitutional monarchy. Deposed in the 1966 political crisis, he spent his retirement in Switzerland, remembered as the beloved father of national sovereignty.