The country now known as the Republic of Congo was originally part of the Kingdom of the Kongo, and the Bakongo, Bateke and Dsanga were the main peoples in the area when the Portuguese arrived in the 15th century. It later became a major centre for the European slave trade. In 1882 the territory was occupied by France, then absorbed into French Equatorial Africa in 1910.

In 1958, the territory became an autonomous republic within the French community before being granted full independence as a republic in August 1960. Abbé Fulbert Youlou, a Catholic priest, was elected President and guided the Congo into a single-party state, in accordance with the trend throughout Africa. A series of left-wing military Governments followed until elections for the Presidency were held in 1979 and brought Colonel Denis Sassou-Nguesso to power as both head of the ruling Parti Congolais du Travail (PCT) and, after 1984, as head of the Government. In line with his predecessors, Sassou-Nguesso pursued a broadly socialist path of development. His position became gradually less secure after the mid-1980s with civil unrest following the introduction of austerity measures and an attempted coup in July 1987. Within the PCT, however, he remained unassailed, having been elected in 1989 for a third consecutive five-year term.

In November 1989, the Government introduced free-market policies, promoting private enterprise and conducting several privatisations. The political reform process began in 1991 with a national conference to discuss the future of the country. This agreed to establish a Higher Council of the Republic, abolishing the principal organs of state and with a brief to prepare legislative and presidential elections for the following year. These took place in the summer of 1992, bringing to power the Union Panafricaine pour la Démocratie Sociale (UPADS) as the major party in both the National Assembly and the Senate, while its leader, Pascal Lissouba, won the presidential poll. Over the next few years, there were occasional outbreaks of fighting between the army and militias loyal to Sassou-Nguesso. These intensified from 1997 onwards when, with some support from allies in Angola, Sassou-Nguesso launched a full-scale military campaign against the Lissouba Government. In October 1997, Sassou-Nguesso’s troops took the capital and installed their leader as President.

A National Transitional Council was established in January 1998 to plot a course towards national elections and a return to civilian rule. However, over the next four years, the military Government came under sustained military assault, first from supporters of Lissouba and then from ex-Government troops loyal to ex-premier Bernard Kolelas who had been dismissed by Sassou-Nguesso. Repeated attempts at mediation by outside parties failed until, in April 2001, a formula devised by President Omar Bongo of Gabon and backed by the Organisation of African Unity secured the agreement of both sides. Under the banner of United Democratic Forces, Sassou-Ngessou stood at the March 2002 presidential election, defeating four other token candidates and securing 90 per cent of the vote. Kignomba Mbougou, standing for UPADS (Lissouba’s party) gained just three per cent. By mid-2003, the country was largely at peace, although there has been fighting in the Pool region, adjacent to the capital, Brazzaville, between the army and a rebel group known as the Ninjas: although this has been sporadic, it has caused a serious refugee problem with an estimated 150,000 displaced as a result.

Following the military takeover in 1997, an appointed 75-member Conseil National de Transition was created to replace the parliament. A new constitution, concentrating most powers in the hands of an elected President, was accepted by popular referendum in January 2002.