Secretary Kerry Shakes Hands With CAR Transitional President Samba-Panza After They Addressed Reporters in Washington

Catherine Samba-Panza (born 26 June 1954) is a Central African lawyer and politician who served as interim President of the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...

from 2014 to 2016. She was the first woman to hold the post of head of state in that country, as well as the eighth woman in Africa to do so. Prior to becoming head of state, she was 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 ...

from 2013 to 2014. She is a non-partisan politician.

Early life and education

Samba-Panza was born on 26 June 1954 in Fort Lamy, Chad, to a mother from the

(CAR) and a Cameroonian father. Prior to politics, she was a businesswoman and corporate lawyer. She moved to the CAR at the age of 18. She studied corporate law in Bangui, and was trained in law at Panthéon-Assas University. When she returned to the CAR after her studies in France, she founded a firm of insurance brokers, but unfortunately found that doing business and attracting investment had become a difficult task due to prevailing climate of graft.

Political career

Mayor of Bangui

She was appointed

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

, the capital of the CAR, by the National Transitional Council (CNT) during the 2012–13 conflict on 14 June 2013. Her appointment was accepted by both sides in the conflict due to her reputation for neutrality and incorruptibility, as well as by French President Francois Hollande.

President

Following the

Central African Republic conflict under the Djotodia administration Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center (disambiguation), center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa ...

and President

Michel Djotodia Michel Am-Nondokro Djotodia (born c. 1949) is a Central African politician who was President of the Central African Republic from 2013 to 2014. He was the first Muslim to hold that office in the predominantly Christian country. Djotodia was a l ...

's resignation after a CEEAC summit on 10 January 2014, Alexandre-Ferdinand Nguendet served as acting president until the CNT

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population ...

Samba Panza as interim President from a list of eight candidates who had to prove they had no links to either the

Séléka Séléka CPSK-CPJP-UFDR was an alliance of rebel militia groups that subjugated the Central African Republic (CAR) on 24 March 2013. After its official dissolution in September 2013, the remaining rebel groups became known as Ex-Séléka. Sél� ...

or the

Anti-balaka The Anti-balaka is an alliance of militia groups based in the Central African Republic in the early 21st century said to be composed primarily of Christians. However, some church leaders have contested the claimed exclusively Christian character ...

. She was to lead the country to the 2015 election. Out of the MPs who voted in the election, 129 of the 135 MPs were in parliament. After beating Désiré Kolingba in a second round ballot, she said:

Her call for talks between both sides to the conflict was welcomed by the parties. She was sworn in as President on 23 January 2014. André Nzapayeké was appointed as Prime Minister to serve during her tenure. She presided over a period that was said to be without law, functioning police or courts. Comparisons were drawn in asking if this would be the "next Rwanda;" although ''

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...

'''s Barnaby Phillips suggested the

Bosnian Genocide The Bosnian genocide ( bs, bosanski genocid) refers to either the Srebrenica massacre or the wider crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing campaign throughout areas controlled by the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) during the Bosnian War o ...

's aftermath may be more apt as people were moving into religiously cleansed neighbourhoods. Samba-Panza suggested poverty and a failure of governance was the cause of the conflict. Samba-Panza replaced Nzapayeké (a Christian) as Prime Minister with Mahamat Kamoun (a Muslim, but without ties to Séléka) in August 2014. As Séléka had no ties to Kamoun, it threatened to boycott the government and threatened to withdraw from the

ceasefire A ceasefire (also known as a truce or armistice), also spelled cease fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be between state act ...

. Samba-Panza served as President from 23 January 2014 till 30 March 2016 when

Faustin-Archange Touadéra Faustin-Archange Touadéra (; born 21 April 1957) is a Central African politician and academic who has been President of the Central African Republic since March 2016. He previously was Prime Minister of the Central African Republic from Janua ...

was sworn in as President after the 2015–16 Central African general election. During her two years as leader of the transition, she had a very difficult task of bringing an end to months of sectarian violence that left her country in tatters and organizing a national election to elect a new President.

2020 presidential election bid

Catherine Samba-Panza announced that she would be running in the 2020 presidential election. She only received 0.9 percent of the vote in the

2020–21 Central African general election General elections were held in the Central African Republic on 27 December 2020 to elect the President and National Assembly. A second round of the legislative elections was originally scheduled to take place on 14 February 2021. Voting was not ...

Personal life

Samba-Panza is a mother of three. She is married to Cyriaque Samba-Panza a former CAR government official.

References

External links