Rene-Guy Charles Okala (19 October 1910 – 16 September 1973) was a

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

ian politician.

Biography

Born in Bilomo in the Centre Region in 1910, Okala attended a Catholic primary school in

Yaoundé Yaoundé (; , ) is the capital of Cameroon and, with a population of more than 2.8 million, the second-largest city in the country after the port city Douala. It lies in the Centre Region of the nation at an elevation of about 750 metres (2,50 ...

.Mark Dike DeLancey, Rebecca Neh Mbuh & Mark W DeLancey (2010) ''Historical Dictionary of the Republic of Cameroon'', Scarecrow Press, p295–296 Following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he was elected to the local Assembly, and 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 1947, serving until 1955.Okala Charles
French Senate In 1959 he established the Socialist Party of Cameroon (PSC), which contested the 1960 elections as part of the

Group of Cameroonian Progressives The Group of Cameroonian Progressives (french: Groupe des Progressistes du Cameroun, GPC) was a political alliance in Cameroon. History The alliance was formed by the Cameroonian National Action Movement and the Socialist Party of Cameroon.Mark ...

. In 1960 he was appointed independent Cameroon's first Foreign Minister. However, he was sacked in 1961 and arrested in June 1962, after which he was tried and convicted for conspiracy. He was released from prison in 1965 as part of a deal that involved the dissolution of the PSC, and joined the

Cameroonian Union The Cameroonian Union (french: Union camérounaise or UC) was a Cameroonian pro-independence party active in the French territory of Cameroun. The UC was formed by Ahmadou Ahidjo in 1958 when he broke from André-Marie Mbida and the Bloc Démoc ...

and its successor the

Cameroon National Union The Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (CPDM; french: Rassemblement démocratique du Peuple Camerounais, RDPC) is the ruling political party in Cameroon. Previously known as the Cameroonian National Union, which had dominated Cameroon politic ...

. Despite being appointed a roving ambassador by President

Ahmadou Ahidjo Ahmadou Babatoura Ahidjo (24 August 192430 November 1989) was a Cameroonian politician who was the first List of Presidents of Cameroon, President of Cameroon, holding the office from 1960 until 1982. Ahidjo played a major role in Cameroon's inde ...

in 1968, he later fell out of favour. He died in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in 1973.

References

French Senators of the Fourth Republic 1910 births 1973 deaths Senators of French Equatorial Africa Foreign ministers of Cameroon People from Centre Region (Cameroon) 20th-century Cameroonian politicians {{Cameroon-politician-stub