The Union for National Progress (French: Union pour le Progrès national, UPRONA) is a nationalist political party in Burundi. Initially it emerged as a nationalist united front in opposition to Belgian colonial rule but subsequently became an integral part of the one-party state established by Michel Micombero after 1966. Dominated by members of the Tutsi ethnic group and increasingly intolerant to their Hutu counterparts, UPRONA remained the dominant force in Burundian politics until the latter stages of the Burundian Civil War in 2003. It is currently a minor opposition party.
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In this Dossier
- ⭐ Core Definition: Union for National Progress
- Union for National Progress in the context of 1993 Burundian coup attempt
- Union for National Progress in the context of 1984 Burundian presidential election
- Union for National Progress in the context of François Ngeze
- Union for National Progress in the context of Jean-Baptiste Bagaza
- Union for National Progress in the context of 1965 Burundian parliamentary election
Union for National Progress in the context of 1993 Burundian coup attempt
On 21 October 1993, a coup was attempted in Burundi by a Tutsi–dominated army faction. The coup attempt resulted in assassination of Hutu President Melchior Ndadaye and the deaths of other officials in the constitutional line of presidential succession. François Ngeze was presented as the new President of Burundi by the army, but the coup failed under domestic and international pressure, leaving Prime Minister Sylvie Kinigi in charge of the government.
Following a long period of military rule by Tutsi army officers, in the early 1990s Burundi underwent a democratic transition. In June 1993 presidential and parliamentary elections were held and won by the Hutu-dominated Front pour la Démocratie au Burundi (FRODEBU), displacing the ruling Union pour le Progrès National (UPRONA) and President Pierre Buyoya. A new coalition government was installed on 10 July with FRODEBU leader Ndadaye as Burundi's first Hutu president. Ndadaye's tenure was largely peaceful, but during his time in office Burundi was subject to several social and political disruptions. Thousands of Burundian Hutu refugees who had fled previous political violence returned to the country en masse, while the government reconsidered various contracts and economic concessions made by the previous regimes and began reforming the army. These actions threatened the interest of Tutsi business elites and military officers. In this atmosphere, elements in the army began planning a coup. The exact identity of those who led the plot remains unknown, though Ngeze, Army Chief of Staff Jean Bikomagu, ex-President Jean-Baptiste Bagaza, and outgoing President Buyoya are widely suspected to have been involved.
Union for National Progress in the context of 1984 Burundian presidential election
Presidential elections were held for the first time in Burundi on 31 August 1984. Incumbent Jean-Baptiste Bagaza of the Union for National Progress (UPRONA; then the sole legal party) was the only candidate, and was re-elected with 99.63% of the vote. Voter turnout was 98.3%.
Union for National Progress in the context of François Ngeze
François Ngeze (born 1953) is a Burundian retired politician. He served as the acting head of state of Burundi from 21 October 1993 to 27 October 1993. He was chosen by the military Committee of Public Salvation, a group of army officers that staged the 1993 Burundian coup d'état attempt overthrew the democratically elected government of president Melchior Ndadaye (who was killed during the coup attempt).
Ngeze, one of the few prominent Hutu members of UPRONA (Union for National Progress) at the time, was interior minister in the government of Pierre Buyoya, who was defeated by Ndadaye in elections held on 1 June 1993.
Union for National Progress in the context of Jean-Baptiste Bagaza
Jean-Baptiste Bagaza (29 August 1946 – 4 May 2016) was a Burundian army officer and politician who ruled Burundi as president and de facto military dictator from November 1976 to September 1987.
Born into the Tutsi ethnic group in 1946, Bagaza served in the Burundian military and rose through the ranks under the rule of Michel Micombero after his rise to power in 1966. Bagaza deposed Micombero in a bloodless coup d'état in 1976 and took power himself as head of the ruling Union for National Progress (Union pour le Progrès national, UPRONA). Despite having participated in the genocidal killings of 1972, he introduced various reforms which modernised the state and made concessions to the country's ethnic Hutu majority. His regime became increasingly repressive after it became consolidated in 1984, especially targeting the powerful Catholic Church. His rule lasted until 1987 when his regime was overthrown in a further coup d'état and he was forced into exile. He returned to Burundi in 1994 and became involved in national politics as the leader of the Party for National Recovery (Parti pour le Redressement National, PARENA). He died in 2016.
Union for National Progress in the context of 1965 Burundian parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in Burundi on 10 May 1965, the first since independence in 1962. Voters elected the National Assembly, which had been reduced from 64 to 33 seats. They followed the assassination of Prime Minister Pierre Ngendandumwe on 15 January 1965, and were won by the ruling Union for National Progress.