PL
The purpose of this article is to present the most important facts of political biography ofPaul Kagame (b. 23 Oct. 1957), the incumbent president of Rwanda, the main architect ofthe Rwandan reforms and the reconstruction of the country after the genocide of 1994. Thesecond aim of this article is to analyze his political experience and choices (both in domesticand foreign policy), as well as the model of leadership he has represented. Subsequently, otherquestions had to be answered, namely whether the state rebuilt by him is really democratic,as it is claimed by the official rhetoric, and whether the new state structure would be capableof creating a barrier to potential ethnic conflict in the future.Key words: Rwanda, East Africa, Paul Kagame, model of leadership