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Auction 20105 14 Dec 2020
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(x) Burundi, Mwambutsa IV Bangiricenge (1915-66), 100-Francs, 1965, Golden Jubilee of the Reign, 30.05g, 6h, edge milled (KM 10; Fb. 10), lustrous, uncirculated or near so, struck the year before his abdication.
Mwambutsa IV was born Prince Bangiricenge in 1912. Like other Burundian Kings mwami, he was an ethnic Ganwa (Tutsi). He ascended to the throne and took the regnal name Mwambutsa, on 16 December 1915 whilst still an infant and a regency was declared. Several family members, including the Queen Mother Ririkumutima, served as regent. At the time of his coronation, Burundi was part of German East Africa but was captured by Belgium in 1916 during the East African Campaign in World War I. In 1925, a full regency council was established with Belgian approval. Mwambutsa became a ruler in his own right on 28 August 1929.
On the independence of Burundi in July 1962, Mwambutsa IV became the autocratic head of state of Burundi. With the Rwandan monarchy previously overthrown on account of deep-seated ethnic differences, the Mwami attempted to balance ethnic tensions Hutu and Tutsi subjects by choosing his Prime Ministers from each ethnic group alternately. In October 1965, Hutu officers attempted a coup d'état against the monarchy. Despite their failure to take power, Mwambutsa IV fled into exile in the Republic of the Congo, eventually moving to Switzerland. In March 1966, he designated his only surviving son to exercise his powers on the spot. Still in exile, Mwambutsa IV was officially deposed in a second coup d'état, and Ntare V succeeded him on 8 July 1966. The monarchy was finally abolished altogether in a third coup in November 1966 and its leader, Michel Micombero, came to power as president and de facto dictator. Mwambutsa IV spent the rest of his life in Switzerland where he died in 1977.
Mwambuta's remains were exhumed from their burial site in Switzerland in 2012, with a view to repatriating them to Burundi for a state funeral. After a legal battle, however, the remains were re-interred in Switzerland in 2016 in accordance with his family's wishes.
Estimate: £900 - £1,000
Mwambutsa IV was born Prince Bangiricenge in 1912. Like other Burundian Kings mwami, he was an ethnic Ganwa (Tutsi). He ascended to the throne and took the regnal name Mwambutsa, on 16 December 1915 whilst still an infant and a regency was declared. Several family members, including the Queen Mother Ririkumutima, served as regent. At the time of his coronation, Burundi was part of German East Africa but was captured by Belgium in 1916 during the East African Campaign in World War I. In 1925, a full regency council was established with Belgian approval. Mwambutsa became a ruler in his own right on 28 August 1929.
On the independence of Burundi in July 1962, Mwambutsa IV became the autocratic head of state of Burundi. With the Rwandan monarchy previously overthrown on account of deep-seated ethnic differences, the Mwami attempted to balance ethnic tensions Hutu and Tutsi subjects by choosing his Prime Ministers from each ethnic group alternately. In October 1965, Hutu officers attempted a coup d'état against the monarchy. Despite their failure to take power, Mwambutsa IV fled into exile in the Republic of the Congo, eventually moving to Switzerland. In March 1966, he designated his only surviving son to exercise his powers on the spot. Still in exile, Mwambutsa IV was officially deposed in a second coup d'état, and Ntare V succeeded him on 8 July 1966. The monarchy was finally abolished altogether in a third coup in November 1966 and its leader, Michel Micombero, came to power as president and de facto dictator. Mwambutsa IV spent the rest of his life in Switzerland where he died in 1977.
Mwambuta's remains were exhumed from their burial site in Switzerland in 2012, with a view to repatriating them to Burundi for a state funeral. After a legal battle, however, the remains were re-interred in Switzerland in 2016 in accordance with his family's wishes.
Estimate: £900 - £1,000