[1] He attended a Catholic primary school in his youth and received secondary education at St. Joseph's Institute, graduating after five years of studies in 1941.

At a Fédération Générale conference in 1959 he successfully lobbied for the Congolese branch of the association to become independent, subsequently becoming secretary-general of the new federation's western chapter.

[5] In October 1958 a group of Léopoldville évolués including Adoula, Patrice Lumumba, Gaston Diomi Ndongala and Joseph Iléo established the Mouvement National Congolais (MNC).

Diverse in membership, the party sought to peacefully achieve Congolese independence, promote the political education of the populace, and eliminate regionalism.

[4] In the Senate's first session on 17 June 1960, Adoula proposed a resolution which was unanimously adopted, calling for representatives of the Union of South Africa to be barred from attending the Congo's independence celebrations due to the country's Apartheid policy.

Adoula expressed his dissatisfaction with the ultimate composition of the government and told Lumumba that he had erred in choosing to be Prime Minister of a cabinet, which faced heavy criticism from different circles.

Adoula increasingly distanced himself from Lumumba, but continuously lobbied that the United Nations Operation in the Congo use force to put down the rebellion in the proclaimed State of Katanga.

Adoula began attracting interest from the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as a liberal, anti-communist alternative to Lumumba.

[18] Still, as his tenure progressed, Adoula faced a growing amount of opposition from the nationalist elements of MNC-Lumumba and Gizenga's faction of the Parti Solidaire Africain.

[21] During his inaugural address following his investiture, Adoula had declared that his government would "take adequate measures permitting each region to administer itself according to its own profound aspirations".

Legislative efforts to achieve the goal immediately began, but faced strong opposition from the Lumumbist bloc, which felt that the Katanga problem should be resolved before any discussion concerning the division of the provinces.

[24] Following the end of the Katangese secession, he in earnest attempted to develop the Congo's foreign relations, particularly with other African states in a Pan-African image.

This was in part attributed to his longstanding personal friendship with FNLA President Holden Roberto; the two had previously been teammates for the Congolese football side Daring Club Motema Pembe.

[31] He agreed to supply funds to various liberation movements in southern Africa and arranged for an office building dubbed the "House of African Nationalists" to be opened in Léopoldville for their use.

[34] From Gizenga's arrest in early 1962 until Parliament's adjournment in September 1963, most of the dissent Adoula faced from the left came in the form of obstructionist activities in the legislative process.

In October the radical Comité National de Libération (CNL) formed in Brazzaville with the goal of overthrowing Adoula's government.

[38] In a New Year's message at the beginning of 1965, Prime Minister Moise Tshombe, Adoula's replacement, rejected conciliation with the rebels and called for their total defeat.

Tshombe responded by blaming the conflict on Adoula, accusing him of weakening the central government and Balkanising the country by dividing the six original provinces into 22 new ones.