Vital Balla (December 13, 1936 – August 24, 2025) was a Congolese politician. He is the co-founder of the Congolese Association for Friendship Among Peoples (ACAP).
Balla was born in Madingou, Bouenza on December 13th, 1936. He entered public service in 1956 and was the co-establisher of the Congolese Association for Friendship Among Peoples (ACAP) in 1965. He became the ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to Cuba in 1976. Later, in Brazzaville, Balla served as deputy to the People's National Assembly in 1989 as well as a member of the Higher Council of the Republic in 1991. Balla also became a presidential envoy in 2011.
Career In 1972 he was included as a member of the Central Committee of the Congolese Party of Labour (PCT), and he remained a member of that body until 1991.Bazenguissa-Ganga, Rémy. Les voies du politique au Congo: essai de sociologie historique. Paris: Karthala, 1997. p. 426
As of 2000, Balla was the second vice-president of the committee appointed to oversee the ceasefire in Brazzaville.Human Rights Watch, Handicap International, International Campaign to Ban Landmines, and Landmine Monitor (Organization). Landmine Monitor Report, 2002: Toward a Mine-Free World. New York: Human Rights Watch, 2002. p. 69
Balla is the president of the Congolese Association for Friendship with the Peoples (ACAP), a position he has held since 1974. As of 1984, he served as vice president of the World Peace Council.Ghana. Ghana News. Washington, D.C.: Embassy of Ghana, 1969. p. 20
Awards In 2010 he was awarded the China-Africa Friendship Award, along with personalities such as Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia. In October 2011, Balla was awarded the Cuban Friendship Medal by ICAP.
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