List of colonial governors of the Congo Free State and Belgian Congo
# List of colonial governors of the Congo Free State and Belgian Congo

This is a list of European colonial administrators responsible for the territory of the Congo Free State and Belgian Congo (today the Democratic Republic of the Congo).

## International Association of the Congo

Prior to the creation of the Congo Free State, the International Association of the Congo (IAC) had signed treaties with over 300 native Congolese chiefs and in effect exercised sovereignty over a large area of the Congo Basin. The IAC was headquartered in Belgium and run by a committee under the presidency of Maximilien Strauch. Prior to the creation of the office of Administrator-General, authority on the ground in the Congo had been exercised by a Chief of Expedition, who until April 1884 was Henry Morton Stanley.

| Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Position | Term of office | Term of office | Term of office | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Position | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Notes |
| | Francis de Winton (1835–1901) | Administrator-General | 22 April 1884 | 1 July 1885 | 1 year, 70 days | |

## Congo Free State

### Administrators-General / Governors-General

| Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Position | Term of office | Term of office | Term of office | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Position | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Notes |
| | Francis de Winton (1835–1901) | Administrator-General | 1 July 1885 | April 1886 | 9 months | |
| | Camille Janssen (1837–1926) | Administrator-General | April 1886 | 17 April 1887 | 6 years, 3 months | |
| | Camille Janssen (1837–1926) | Governor-General | 17 April 1887 | 1 July 1892 | 6 years, 3 months | |
| | Théophile Wahis (1844–1921) | Governor-General | 1 July 1892 | 15 November 1908 | 16 years, 137 days | |

### Vice Governors-General

| Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Position | Term of office | Term of office | Term of office | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Position | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Notes |
| | Camille Janssen (1837–1926) | Vice Administrator-General | 25 September 1885 | April 1886 | 6 months | |
| | Herman Ledeganck (1841–1908) | Vice Governor-General | 31 January 1888 | January 1889 | 11 months | |
| | Henri Gondry (1845–1889) | Acting Vice Governor-General | January 1889 | 18 May 1889 | 4 months | |
| | Camille Coquilhat (1853–1891) | Vice Governor-General | 1890 | 24 March 1891 | 0–1 years | |
| | Théophile Wahis (1844–1921) | Vice Governor-General | 15 April 1891 | 1 July 1892 | 1 year, 77 days | |
| | Francis Dhanis (1861–1909) | Vice Governor-General | 4 September 1896 | 1897 | 0–1 years | |
| | Émile Wangermée (1855–1924) | Vice Governor-General | 11 April 1897 | 1 December 1897 | 234 days | |
| | Alphonse van Gèle (1848–1939) | Vice Governor-General | 1 December 1897 | 10 January 1899 | 1 year, 40 days | |
| | Paul Costermans (1860–1905) | Vice Governor-General | January 1904 | March 1905 | 1 year, 2 months | |
| | Félix Fuchs (1858–1928) | Governor-General ad interim | 25 December 1902 | 4 March 1904 | 1 year, 70 days | |
| | Félix Fuchs (1858–1928) | Vice Governor-General | 1907 | 1908 | 0–1 years | |
| | Albert Lantonnois van Rode (1852–1934) | Vice Governor-General | May 1905 | 1906/7 | 1–2 years | |

## Belgian Congo

| Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Position | Term of office | Term of office | Term of office | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Position | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Notes |
| | Théophile Wahis (1844–1921) | Governor-General | 15 November 1908 | 20 May 1912 | 3 years, 187 days | |
| | Félix Fuchs (1858–1928) | Governor-General | 20 May 1912 | 5 January 1916 | 3 years, 230 days | |
| | Eugène Henry (1862–1930) | Governor-General | 5 January 1916 | 30 January 1921 | 5 years, 25 days | |
| | Maurice Lippens (1875–1956) | Governor-General | 30 January 1921 | 24 January 1923 | 1 year, 359 days | |
| | Martin Rutten (1876–1944) | Governor-General | 24 January 1923 | 27 December 1927 | 4 years, 337 days | |
| | Auguste Tilkens (1869–1949) | Governor-General | 27 December 1927 | 14 September 1934 | 6 years, 261 days | |
| | Pierre Ryckmans (1891–1959) | Governor-General | 14 September 1934 | 31 December 1946 | 12 years, 108 days | |
| | Eugène Jungers (1888–1958) | Governor-General | 31 December 1946 | 1 January 1952 | 5 years, 1 day | |
| | Léo Pétillon (1903–1996) | Governor-General | 1 January 1952 | 12 July 1958 | 6 years, 192 days | |
| | Hendrik Cornelis (1910–1999) | Governor-General | 12 July 1958 | 30 June 1960 | 1 year, 354 days | |

On 1 July 1960, the Belgian Congo became independent as the Republic of the Congo (République du Congo).

