Ferdinand Essandja

Ferdinand Essandja (sometimes Fernand Essendja or Ferdinand Esandja) was a Congolese politician and businessman. He was the chairman of the Parti de l’Unité Congolaise in 1959{{cite journal| title = Le Congrès de Coquilhatville et la création du parti national du progrès (P.N.P.)| journal = Courrier Hebdomadaire du CRISP| issue = 41| pages = 1–5| publisher = CRISP| date = 1959| language = fr| url = https://www.cairn.info/revue-courrier-hebdomadaire-du-crisp-1959-41-page-1.htm| doi = 10.3917/cris.041.0001| doi-access = free}} and worked as a chief clerk for Sabena.* {{cite book| editor-last = Gérard-Libois| editor-first = Jules|editor-link=Jules Gérard-Libois| title = Congo 1959| publisher = Centre de Recherche et d'Information Sociopolitiques| date = 1960| location = Brussels| url = https://issuu.com/tetitatutis/docs/congo1959| oclc = 891524823| page= 287}} He attended the Belgo-Congolese Round Table Conference in early 1960 as a delegate of the Parti National du Progrès (PNP) to participate in negotiations for the Belgian Congo's independence.{{cite book| title = The Belgo-Congolese Round Table: The historic days of February 1960| date = 1960| location = Brussels| url = https://archive.org/details/TheBelgo-congoleseRoundTable| page= [https://archive.org/details/TheBelgo-congoleseRoundTable/page/n48 62]}} At one point he served as the mayor of the Barumbu commune of Léopoldville. In June 1961 Essendja became the managing director of Air Congo, the flag carrier of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.{{cite book| last= Artigue |first= Pierre |title = Qui sont les leaders congolais?| publisher = Éditions Europe-Afrique| volume = 3| date = 1961| pages = 76| language = fr| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=24c5AQAAIAAJ}} By 1967 he was the vice president of company.{{cite magazine| date = 13 April 1967| page = [https://www.flightglobal.com/FlightPDFArchive/1967/1967%20-%200568.PDF 544]| title = Air Congo| magazine = Flight International}}