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 KINSHASA, Congo (AP) - The man expected to handily win historic elections in Congo helped end the continent's most devastating war.
Joseph Kabila, the 35-year-old interim president, inherited his job from his father, Laurent Kabila, who was assassinated by a bodyguard in 2001. Rwandan troops had helped propel Laurent Kabila to power as head of a rebel force that had risen up against dictator Mobutu Sese Seko, whose 32-year dictatorship ended in 1997.
Joseph Kabila is credited with taking the initiative to end Congo's 1996-2002 war by uniting warring rebels to form a transitional government that paved the way for elections. Among the former fighters he brought into his transitional government was Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba, his main rival in the elections.
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