Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo[1] (French: [feliks ɑ̃twan tʃisekedi tʃilombo]; born 13 June 1963)[2] is a Congolese politician who has been the fifth president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo since 24 January 2019.

The Constitutional Court of the DRC upheld his victory after another opposition politician, Martin Fayulu, challenged the result, but Tshisekedi has been accused of making a deal with his predecessor, Joseph Kabila.

Since the Common Front for Congo (FCC) coalition, which is aligned with Kabila, still controlled the parliament and provincial governorships, Tshisekedi's ability to govern or even appoint a new Prime Minister was limited for the first six months of his term.

He named his coalition partner and political heavyweight, Vital Kamerhe, as his Chief of Cabinet, at first having designated him prime minister but not having the parliamentary support to have him successfully appointed.

[9] He had a comfortable life as a youth in the capital, but when his father created the UDPS in the early 1980s, publicly opposing Mobutu, Félix was forced to accompany him into house arrest in his native village in central Kasaï.

[17] On 20 January, South Africa congratulated Tshisekedi on his election despite the African Union and EU warning of doubts over the result announced by the Constitutional Court.

[19][20] On 13 March 2019, Tshisekedi signed a decree to pardon approximately 700 prisoners, including imprisoned political opponents of Kabila, and this decision followed his promise given the week before to allow the return of exiles.

In late April, Jeune Afrique reported that Kabila proposed to Tshisekedi the mining company executive Albert Yuma as a candidate for prime minister.

[25] In early March, Tshisekedi started a program to improve infrastructure, transport, education, housing, communication, health, water, and agriculture.

The majority of the ministries went to the FCC, including three of the six most important ones (Defence, Justice, and Finance), while the Foreign Affairs, Interior, and Budget portfolios went to Tshisekedi's allies.

[38] In October 2022, Tshisekedi ruled out bringing in Russian mercenaries to help quell a raging conflict in the east of the country and vowed to press on with economic development plans despite the insecurity in the region.

[8][45][46][47] In October 2024, Tshisekedi walked out of the Francophone heads of state retreat in Paris after French president Emmanuel Macron failed to mention the conflicts in the eastern DRC in his speech.

[48] On 18 January 2025, Tshisekedi reaffirmed Kinshasa's refusal to engage in dialogue with the M23 rebels, stating, "Legitimizing these criminals would be an insult to the victims and to international law".