BEIJING, July 3 (Xinhua) -- Republic of Congo President Denis Sassou-N'Guesso will pay a state visit to China from July 4 to 8. The following is a profile of the president:
Sassou-N'Guesso was born in 1943 in the northern province of Oyo in the Congo Republic. He used to study at Algerian and French military schools, and held military posts such as Brazzaville military district commander, commander of the army, and director general of the National Security Bureau.
In March 1979, Sassou-N'Guesso was elected chairman of the Congolese Labour Party and head of state, and became president in July. He was re-elected twice in 1984 and 1989 respectively, and lost the campaign in 1992.
In March 2002, Sassou-N'Guesso was elected as president again, and was re-elected in 2009 and 2016.
Sassou-N'Guesso paid five official visits to China in 1980, 1987, 2000, 2005 and 2014. In 2006, he attended the China-Africa Cooperation Forum in China. In 2010, he was present at the opening ceremony of the Shanghai World Expo.
