Congo Economy Minister Dies of Cardiac Arrest in Paris Hotel

By Franz Wild

Oct. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Democratic Republic of Congo’s Economy Minister, Andre-Philippe Futa, died of cardiac arrest in a Paris hotel today, a ministry spokesman said.

Futa, 66, passed away at 4 a.m. while on a stopover from an official trip to Venezuela, said the spokesman, who declined to be named in line with ministry policy.

Futa, who became an ally of President Joseph Kabila after he took power in 2001, previously taught economics at Oklahoma State University and acted as a manager at the African Development Bank.

The government will next week appoint a replacement minister, the spokesman said today in a phone interview from the capital, Kinshasa.

To contact the reporter on this story: Franz Wild in Kinshasa at fwild@bloomberg.net