This article lists the heads of government of the Central African Republic. There have been twenty-five

heads of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a gro ...

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 ...

and the

Central African Empire From 4 December 1976 to 21 September 1979, the Central African Republic was officially known as the Central African Empire (french: Empire centrafricain), after military dictator (and president at the time) Marshal Jean-Bédel Bokassa declared ...

. The office of Prime Minister, the head of government, was created when the

became an

autonomous In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's ow ...

territory of France in December 1958. It was originally the highest post of the Central African Republic, though France did maintain a governor in the territory. After the Central African Republic declared its independence and became a

republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

on 13 August 1960,

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 ...

held both the Prime Minister and newly created

President of the Central African Republic President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

posts briefly before eliminating the Prime Minister position and placing all executive power in the office of the President. President

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 ...

restored the office of Prime Minister to assist him in governing the country in 1975, shortly before he declared himself Emperor. He selected Elisabeth Domitien to become Africa's first female head of government. After Domitien was removed from office, Bokassa named

Ange-Félix Patassé Ange-Félix Patassé (January 25, 1937 – April 5, 2011) was a Central African politician who was President of the Central African Republic from 1993 until 2003, when he was deposed by the rebel leader François Bozizé in the 2003 coup d'ét ...

to become his next Prime Minister. Patassé continued serving as Prime Minister after Bokassa declared the establishment of the

in December 1976. Henri Maïdou succeeded Patassé and continued serving as Prime Minister after Bokassa was overthrown from power. During the following two years of Dacko's presidency, three more politicians served as Prime Minister. The post was abolished when Dacko was overthrown from the presidency by Andre Kolingba on 1 September 1981. The position, as it exists today, was recreated in 1991, when President Kolingba was forced to relinquish some of the executive power. The President has the authority to name the Prime Minister and can remove them from office at any time. The Prime Minister is the head of the government; within days of being appointed, they must select individuals for their

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

, who they will work with to coordinate the government. According to a ceasefire agreement signed between the government and 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� ...

rebel coalition on 11 January 2013, President

François Bozizé François Bozizé Yangouvonda (born 14 October 1946) is a Central African politician who was President of the Central African Republic from 2003 to 2013. Bozizé rose to become a high-ranking army officer in the 1970s, under the rule of Jean-B� ...

was required to appoint a new Prime Minister from the political opposition after the

National Assembly of the Central African Republic The National Assembly is the lower house of the Parliament of the Central African Republic. Members are elected in single-member constituencies using the two-round (or Run-off) system. Members serve five-year terms. History The National Assemb ...

is dissolved and legislative elections are held. According to the agreement, this will happen on 11 January 2014 at the latest.

Nicolas Tiangaye Nicolas Tiangaye (born 13 September 1956Pierre Kalck and Xavier-Samuel Kalck, ''Historical Dictionary of the Central African Republic'' (2005), page 182.) is a Central African Republic, Central African politician and lawyer who was Prime Ministe ...

, who was selected as Prime Minister by the opposition and rebels, was appointed as Prime Minister on 17 January 2013.Patrick Fort
"Tiangaye named Central African PM, says 'hard work' begins"
Agence France-Presse, 17 January 2013. The current Prime Minister of the Central African Republic is

Félix Moloua Félix Moloua is a Central African Republic politician. In February 2022, he was appointed Prime Minister of the Central African Republic. He was the previous minister of planning, economy and cooperation of the Central African Republic. Othe ...

, since 7 February 2022.

Political affiliations

;''Political parties'' * * * * * * * * * ;''Other factions'' * ''For heads of government with multiple affiliations, the political party listed first is the party the person was affiliated with at the beginning of the tenure.''

Heads of government

Footnotes

* Goumba had served as President of the Government Council since 26 July 1958. When the Central African Republic became a territorial autonomy, he served as the acting leader the government from 1 December 1958 to 8 December 1958. * Boganda was killed in a mysterious plane crash on 29 March 1959, while en route to Bangui. The exact cause of the crash was not determined, but sabotage was widely suspected. Experts found a trace of explosives in the plane's wreckage, but revelation of this detail was withheld. Although those responsible for the crash were never identified, people have suspected the

French secret service This is a list of current and former French intelligence agencies. Currently active *DGSE: Directorate-General for External Security – '' Direction générale de la sécurité extérieure''. It is the military foreign intelligence agency, whi ...

, and even Boganda's wife, of being involved. * Dacko removed the Prime Minister position and consolidated power in the Presidency. * President for Life

established a new government on 2 January 1975 and reintroduced the position of Prime Minister. He appointed Domitien as president of MESAN and Prime Minister of the Central African Republic. * Domitien was removed from office because she publicly expressed her disapproval of Bokassa's plans to establish a monarchy in the Central African Republic. Bokassa then had her placed under

house arrest In justice and law, house arrest (also called home confinement, home detention, or, in modern times, electronic monitoring) is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to their residence. Travel is usually restricted, if all ...

. * On 4 December 1976, Bokassa instituted a new constitution and declared the republic a

monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutional monarchy) ...

, the

. * President Dacko appointed Maïdou as Vice President on 27 September 1979.. * Prime Minister Ayandho was dismissed from office on 22 August 1980 by Dacko, who saw him as a political threat, and placed under house arrest. * Dacko created the

Central African Democratic Union The Central African Democratic Union (french: Union Démocratique Centrafricaine, UDC) was a political party in the Central African Republic. History The UDC was established by David Dacko in March 1980 at a congress. Dacko claimed that the UDC ...

in February 1980 as the country's only political party. * Malendoma was removed as Prime Minister and replaced by Lakoué. * In April 1995, Mandaba resigned as Prime Minister, preempting a threatened

vote of no-confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

from his own party, following accusations of incompetence and corruption. * Gbezera-Bria was named Prime Minister on 30 January 1997 to replace Ngoupande, who had been accused of siding with disgruntled soldiers, who had sparked a mutiny on 15 November 1996 to demand higher wages. Ngoupande also didn't strongly support President Patassé's decision to call in French troops to suppress the soldier uprising. * President Patassé fired Dologuélé on 1 April 2001 and replaced him with Ziguélé, a senior diplomat who had served as ambassador to

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...

for the last two years. Patassé did not provide an explanation for his decision, but political observers state that the nonpartisan Dologuélé had become widely unpopular with the ruling MLPC party. * Ziguélé left office when

seized power on 15 March 2003. * On 11 December 2003, Goumba was dismissed as Prime Minister and was appointed as Vice President. * Gaombalet resigned as Prime Minister on 11 June 2005 after being elected as Speaker of the National Assembly on 7 June. * In mid-January 2008, members of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

filed a

censure motion A censure is an expression of strong disapproval or harsh criticism. In parliamentary procedure, it is a debatable main motion that could be adopted by a majority vote. Among the forms that it can take are a stern rebuke by a legislature, a spi ...

against the Doté government, in response to countrywide civil service strike initiated by

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

s to protest the government's failure to pay

arrears Arrears (or arrearage) is a legal term for the part of a debt that is overdue after missing one or more required payments. The amount of the arrears is the amount accrued from the date on which the first missed payment was due. The term is usually ...

to government employees. On 18 January, Doté announced his resignation as Prime Minister. * Tiangaye resigned with 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 ...

N'Djamena N'Djamena ( ) is the capital and largest city of Chad. It is also a special statute region, divided into 10 districts or ''arrondissements''. The city serves as the centre of economic activity in Chad. Meat, fish and cotton processing are the ...

Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...

on 10 January 2014.

Timeline

References

;General *. * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . ;Specific

External links

Elections in the Central African Republic

BBC News Timeline: Central African Republic
{{Prime Minister