Étienne Ngounio (also spelled Étienne N'Gounio) was a Central African politician. He became a member of the

French Senate The Senate (french: Sénat, ) is the upper house of the French Parliament, with the lower house being the National Assembly (France), National Assembly, the two houses constituting the legislature of France. The French Senate is made up of 34 ...

in 1958.

Early life

Ngounio was born on 19 October 1920. His place of birth is listed as Limassa near Ouango by historian Jacques Serre and

Kembé Kembé is a town located in the Central African Republic Prefectures of the Central African Republic, prefecture of Basse-Kotto. The Kembe Falls, Kotto Falls double waterfall is nearby. History Kembé, together with nearby Dimbi, was captured b ...

in his

biography. Serre notes that due to the imprecision of the records at the time, his date of birth is uncertain and that he was likely born some years before 1920. He had his primary education at a Catholic missionary school, and was subsequently privately tutored in

Bangassou Bangassou is a city in the south eastern Central African Republic, lying on the north bank of the Mbomou River. It has a population of 24,447 (2003 census) and is the capital of the Mbomou prefecture. It is known for its wildlife, market, and near ...

. This was where he met political activist

Barthélemy Boganda Barthélemy Boganda (c. 1910 – 29 March 1959) was a Central African politician and independence activist. Boganda was active prior to his country's independence, during the period when the area, part of French Equatorial Africa, was administe ...

, who was undertaking a visit to the town in 1943.

Political life

Ngounio became a follower of Boganda and joined the administration of his

Movement for the Social Evolution of Black Africa The Movement for the Social Evolution of Black Africa (french: Mouvement pour l'évolution sociale de l'Afrique noire; MESAN) was a political party in the Central African Republic. In its original form, it was a nationalist quasi-religious party ...

(MESAN) in 1951. He was elected on the MESAN list as a representative of

Mbomou :''Mbomou'' can also refer to the Mbomou River. Mbomou is one of the sixteen prefectures of the Central African Republic. It covers an area of and has a population of 132,740 (according to a 2003 census), giving a population density of only 2.2 ...

in 1952. He became a member of the Grand Council of

French Equatorial Africa French Equatorial Africa (french: link=no, Afrique-Équatoriale française), or the AEF, was the federation of French colonial possessions in Equatorial Africa, extending northwards from the Congo River into the Sahel, and comprising what are ...

in 1957 and aided Boganda in his election as the President of the Council. He became a member of the French Senate in 1958, representing

Oubangui-Chari Ubangi-Shari (french: Oubangui-Chari) was a French colony in central Africa, a part of French Equatorial Africa. It was named after the Ubangi and Chari rivers along which it was colonised. It was established on 29 December 1903, from the ...

as a member of the

Socialist Group The Socialists, Democrats and Greens Group (french: Groupe Socialiste, SOC) is a primarily social-democratic political grouping in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. It was known as the Socialist Group prior to August 2017. The g ...

. He served as a member of the Committee of Social Affairs and remained in the French Senate until 15 July 1959. Upon the death of Boganda in 1959, he became the leader of MESAN and was also selected as Boganda's replacement as the Mayor of

Bangui Bangui () (or Bangî in Sango, formerly written Bangi in English) is the capital and largest city of the Central African Republic. It was established as a French outpost in 1889 and named after its location on the northern bank of the Ubangi ...

, a post that he would hold until 1962. Ngounio presided over the session of the Territorial Assembly in April 1959, tasked with determining a successor to Boganda as the Head of State of the new Central African Republic. He supported

Abel Goumba Abel Nguéndé Goumba (; 18 September 1926 – 11 May 2009) was a Central African political figure. During the late 1950s, he headed the government in the period prior to independence from France, and following independence he was an unsucce ...

, who was defeated by

David Dacko David Dacko (; 1927 – 21 November 2003) was a Central African politician who served as the first president of the Central African Republic from 14 August 1960 to 1 January 1966, and 3rd President from 21 September 1979 to 1 September 1981. Af ...

. Dacko himself states that Ngounio was very ambitious and "would have seen himself as the President of the Government". In July 1960, whilst Ngounio was outside Bangui, Dacko hastily organised a party convention and had himself elected instead of Ngounio as the leader of MESAN. Ngounio was then marginalised in the party by Dacko and was not renominated for election in 1964. He was instead named as a member of the Economic and Social Council, but ended up never attending any meetings there.

Later life

After

Jean-Bédel Bokassa Jean-Bédel Bokassa (; 22 February 1921 – 3 November 1996), also known as Bokassa I, was a Central African political and military leader who served as the second president of the Central African Republic (CAR) and as the emperor of its s ...

, who would go on to proclaim himself the Central African Emperor, seized power in a coup d'état in 1966, he viewed Ngounio as a political opponent. Ngounio was accordingly exiled, being appointed in 1967 as the Head of Customs in

Bouar Bouar is a market town in the western Central African Republic, lying on the main road from Bangui (437 km) to the frontier with Cameroon (210 km). The city is the capital of Nana-Mambéré prefecture, has a population of 40,353, while t ...

. He was exiled further afield in between 1968 and 1970 to the extreme north of the country, as the Head of Customs in

Birao Birao is the capital of Vakaga, one of the 14 prefectures of the Central African Republic and was an administrative post in the colony of Ubangui-Shari. In March 2007, the town was almost completely burnt down in the fighting between rebels and ...

. He returned to Bangui in 1970 as the Head of Customs at the

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

, where he remained in post until at least 1976. His French Senate biography states that he died on 5 August 1985 in Bangui, whilst Serre states that he died in either 1990 or 1991.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ngounio, Etienne 1920 births 20th-century deaths Year of death uncertain Senators of French Equatorial Africa French Senators of the Fourth Republic Members of the National Assembly (Central African Republic) Mayors of Bangui Customs officials People from Basse-Kotto Central African Republic exiles Central African Republic expatriates in France