Ferdinand Kazadi Lupeleka (24 April 1925 – 26 June 1984) was a Congolese politician from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kazadi was a founding member of the College of Commissioners where he had been appointed General Commissioner of National Defense by President Joseph Mobutu, during the Congo Crisis in 1960. In 1969, he was appointed Commissioner of State for Public Matters and Territorial Management.^{[citation needed]} He was elected Deputy Commissioner of the People on three occasions (1966, 1972 and 1977).^{[citation needed]}

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Kazadi was born in Katende wa Bakwa Mwanza, north of Demba in the Kasaï-Central region on April 24, 1925. His parents, Helene Ngalula Mulanga and Jean Dibomba Kabongo, had four children, of which Kazadi was the only son. Higher education was mainly provided by Catholic and Protestant missionaries. Kazadi had successfully completed high school at the Scheut Mission of Kabwe from 1934 to 1939. He distinguished himself through his abilities and the conspicuous influence of a Catechist father, so he was sent to the Small Seminary of Kabwe Ste Therese in December 1939, as few other choices were available to the elite. After six years of higher education, in 1946 he was admitted to the Large Seminary of Kabwe, in order to pursue studies in philosophy and theology for the next eight years.

Kazadi was on the path to enter priesthood after 14 years of seminary studies, but he abandoned to protect his clan's lineage. Therefore, in 1952, he undertook career in public service. Kazadi first became the Official to the Provincial Secretariat, and later became a Specialist at the Governor Cabinet of the Kasai Province.

In parallel with his administrative career, Kazadi participated in the independence struggle. Using the pen name "Kazadi wa Kabwe", he distinguished himself through his writings. In 1954, the first Congolese university, Lovanium University, opened in Leopoldville (Kinshasa). His ambition to acquire a better education despite his familial duties, led him to enroll in 1955 in the Political and Social Sciences Department. He received a degree in sociology in 1960. He wrote a memoir upon completing his studies, entitled The Life of An Unemployed in Kinshasa in 1960. During his years at Lovanium, he was nicknamed "Bismarck" due to his loyalty and firmness, based on German chancellor Otto von Bismarck.

Kazadi was fluent in Chinese, Dutch, French, English, Latin, Swahili, Kikongo, Lingala, and Ciluba. He read extensively and loved classical music, which he was also able to read. He was a proficient harmonium player. He married Madeleine Mianda Ngadu in 1953.

• Congo Crisis
• 1960 Belgian Congo general election
• Jean Nguza Karl-i-Bond