Prince Louis Rwagasore was the son of King Mwambutsa IV. He was active in nationalist movements and campaigned for independence from Belgium.

The Belgians had maintained a strong colonial rule by skillfully avoiding a unified Burundi nationalist movement by pitting the different ethnic groups against each other. Rwagasore diffused these ethnic tensions by marrying a Hutu woman.

In the September 1961 elections before independence, he won 80% of the vote and became the first Prime Minister-elect.

However, he was gunned down in a hotel restaurant a few weeks later on October 13th 1961. Though his assassin was Greek, suspicions remain that his murder was sponsored by a pro-Belgian group.