Joseph Sungilanga Khamisi was a Congolese military officer and politician, being the first President of the United Republic of the Congo. He was also the founder of the Congolese Nationalist Party, which became the largest and most popular political party in the country. Originally the chief of land forces staff in the military of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, he committed a coup d'état in 2016 against the unpopular President Joseph Kabila. After deposing of him, Khamisi was voted in as the president of the newly formed URC, declared by the National Assembly.