Bernard Ciza
{{Short description|Burundian politician}}
{{Infobox Officeholder
|name = Bernard Ciza
|image =
|caption =
|office = Minister of State for Development Planning and Reconstruction of Burundi
|term_start = February 1994
|term_end = 6 April 1994
|predecessor =
|successor =
|office1 = Deputy Prime Minister for Economic and Social Affairs of Burundi
|president1 =
|term_start1 = 10 July 1993
|term_end1 = February 1994
|predecessor1 =
|successor1 =
|birth_date =
|birth_place = Bururi Province, Ruanda-Urundi
|death_date = 6 April 1994
|party = Front pour la Démocratie au Burundi
|alma_mater =
}}
Bernard Ciza (died 6 April 1994) was a Burundian politician. Originating from Bururi Province, he became a leading member of the Front pour la Démocratie au Burundi (FRODEBU) and in 1993 became Deputy Prime Minister for Economic and Social Affairs under Prime Minister Sylvie Kinigi. He survived the coup attempt of October 1993 and in February 1994 became Minister of State for Development Planning and Reconstruction. He died later that year when the plane on which he was traveling was shot down over Kigali.
Early life
Bernard Ciza was ethnically Hutu and originated from Bururi Province, Burundi.{{sfn|Guichaoua|1995|p=737}} He married a woman, Charlotte.{{cite web| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3604873.stm| title = Burundi silent over shared tragedy| last = Ndikumagenge| first = Prime| date = 6 April 2004| website = BBC News| publisher = British Broadcasting Corporation| access-date = 23 June 2021}}
Political career
By 1993 Ciza served as a member of the central committee of the Front pour la Démocratie au Burundi (FRODEBU).{{cite news| title = Burundi : On a knife's edge| newspaper = Africa Confidential| volume = 35| issue = 16| date = 1994| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Wo8MAQAAMAAJ}} Following the 1993 elections in Burundi, he became Deputy Prime Minister for Economic and Social Affairs under Prime Minister Sylvie Kinigi. On 21 October Tutsi army officers launched a coup in an attempt to overthrow the government.{{sfn|Keesing's Record|1994|p=R-6}} Ciza and fellow Deputy Prime Minister Melchior Ntahobama were betrayed by their military guards and were imprisoned. However, a few hours later a junior military officer freed them and asked them where they wished to go. Ciza was taken to the French embassy.{{sfn|Krueger|Krueger|2007|p=12}} The coup eventually faltered and the civilian government was reinstated.{{sfn|Keesing's Record|1994|p=R-6}} In February 1994 a new government was sworn-in under Prime Minister Anatole Kanyenkiko, and Ciza became Minister of State for Development Planning and Reconstruction.{{sfn|Keesing's Record|1994|p=39852}}
Death
{{Further|Assassination of Juvénal Habyarimana and Cyprien Ntaryamira}}
On 6 April 1994 Burundian President Cyprien Ntaryamira attended a regional summit in Dar es Salaam. Once the summit was over, Ntaryamira reportedly asked Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana if he could be taken home aboard the Rwandan Dassault Falcon 50 presidential jet, which was faster than his own propeller-driven plane. Habyarimana agreed and allowed Ntaryamira to accompany him along with two of his ministers, Ciza and Cyriaque Simbizi. At 8:23 PM as the jet was approaching Kigali International Airport, two surface-to-air rockets were fired, with the second missile striking it. The plane crashed, killing all aboard.{{sfn|Melvern|2000|p=115}} Ciza was buried in Bujumbura in a state funeral on 16 April alongside Ntaryamira and Simbizi.{{cite web| url = https://www.presidence.gov.bi/2019/04/06/le-couple-presidentiel-depose-une-gerbe-de-fleurs-au-mausolee-de-feu-president-cyprien-ntaryamira/| title = Le Couple Présidentiel dépose une gerbe de fleurs au mausolée de feu Président Cyprien NTARYAMIRA| date = 6 April 2019| website = Présidence de la République du Burundi| language = French| publisher = Ntare Rushatsi House| access-date = 31 May 2021}}{{cite news| title = It is like the mayhem has gathered pace...' : Rwandan army killing, raping and looting| newspaper = The Kingston Whig-Standard| agency = Reuters| page = 13| date = 18 April 1994}} His ministerial portfolio was taken over by Minister of Finance Salvator Toyi.{{sfn|Guichaoua|1995|p=737}}
References
{{reflist}}
Works cited
- {{cite book| last = Guichaoua| first = André| title = Les crises politiques au Burundi et au Rwanda, 1993-1994: analyses, faits et documents| publisher = Université des sciences et technologies de Lille| edition = 2nd| date = 1995| location =| language = French| isbn = 9782909869018}}
- {{cite book| title = Keesing's Record of World Events| publisher = Longman| volume = 40| date = 1994| location =| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=nRQMAQAAMAAJ| issn = 0950-6128| ref = {{harvid|Keesing's Record|1994}}}}
- {{cite book| last1 = Krueger| first1 = Robert| last2 = Krueger| first2 = Kathleen Tobin| title = From Bloodshed to Hope in Burundi : Our Embassy Years During Genocide| publisher = University of Texas Press| date = 2007| url= https://www.sahistory.org.za/sites/default/files/archive-files3/ambassador_robert_krueger_kathleen_tobin_kruegerbook4you.pdf| isbn = 9780292714861}}
- {{cite book| last = Melvern| first = Linda| title = A People Betrayed: The Role of the West in Rwanda's Genocide| publisher = Zed Books| edition = reprint| date = 2000| location =| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=rhsRrxZtJwMC| isbn = 9781856498319}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ciza, Bernard}}
Category:Front for Democracy in Burundi politicians
Category:Assassinated Burundian politicians
Category:Finance ministers of Burundi
Category:Government ministers of Burundi
Category:20th-century politicians
Category:People from Bururi Province
Category:African politicians assassinated in the 1990s
Category:Politicians assassinated in 1994
Category:Deputy prime ministers of Burundi
Category:Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1994
Category:Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Rwanda