# Mwambutsa IV Leaves for Exile (1965)

URL: https://allhistories.com/burundi/timeline/1965-mwambutsa-iv-leaves-for-exile
Location: Bujumbura, Burundi
Themes: ruler-change

Mwambutsa IV had reigned for half a century and had tried to balance Hutu and Tutsi by alternating prime ministers between the groups. The coup attempt of 18 October, during which rebels reached his palace grounds, shattered his confidence. By the morning of 19 October the mwami had fled to Uvira in the Congo, returning to Bujumbura only after white mercenaries serving the Congolese army judged it safe. That evening he broadcast a proclamation of martial law and dismissed the gendarmerie chief Serukwavu. After only a few days he left for Europe on 2 November 1965, suspending the powers of the wounded Biha's government and leaving authority with directors-general, secretaries of state and provincial governors; he restored the government's powers on 20 November. He settled in Switzerland and attempted to rule from abroad. His departure left Burundi effectively without a resident head of state just as the army purged Hutu leaders, and in René Lemarchand's view it gravely tarnished the monarchy's image. De facto power passed to the army and civil service, with young Tutsi officers around Micombero gaining influence. Mwambutsa was deposed by his son in July 1966 and died in Geneva in 1977; his remains, exhumed in 2012, were reburied in Switzerland in 2016. At this point in the timeline (2 November 1965), the Mwami (King) of Burundi was Mwambutsa IV Bangiricenge (16 December 1915 – 8 July 1966). Government: the Prime Minister of Burundi was Léopold Biha (13 October 1965 – 8 July 1966).

## Why it matters
The mwami's flight created the power vacuum that the army and Tutsi radicals filled, sealing the monarchy's fate.

Ruler at the Time: [Mwambutsa IV Bangiricenge](https://allhistories.com/burundi/rulers/mwambutsa-iv-bangiricenge)

Prime Minister of Burundi: Léopold Biha (Union for National Progress (UPRONA))

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Mwambutsa IV of Burundi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mwambutsa_IV_of_Burundi)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica — Mwambutsa IV](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Mwambutsa+IV)
- [Wikipedia — 1965 Burundian coup attempt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1965_Burundian_coup_attempt)
- [Rulers.org](https://www.rulers.org/)
- [Wikipedia — The Independent Kingdom (period overview)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Burundi)