Michel Gbezera-Bria (born 1 January 1946) is a Central African politician and diplomat. He was

Prime Minister of the Central African Republic This article lists the heads of government of the Central African Republic. There have been twenty-five heads of government of the Central African Republic and the Central African Empire. The office of Prime Minister, the head of government, wa ...

from 1997 to 1999. He is currently the CAR Ambassador to France.

Early life

Gbezera-Bria was born in

Bossangoa Bossangoa is the capital of Ouham, one of the 14 prefectures of the Central African Republic. The town has a population of 36,478 (2003 census). It is located 303 km (189 mi) north of the country's capital, Bangui. The Ouham River passe ...

on 1 January 1946. He is a member of the Baya ethnic group. He was educated at College Emile Gentil in

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 ...

and studied law in

Brazzaville Brazzaville (, kg, Kintamo, Nkuna, Kintambo, Ntamo, Mavula, Tandala, Mfwa, Mfua; Teke: ''M'fa'', ''Mfaa'', ''Mfa'', ''Mfoa''Roman Adrian Cybriwsky, ''Capital Cities around the World: An Encyclopedia of Geography, History, and Culture'', ABC-CLI ...

. Gbezera-Bria later studied economics at Institut d'administration publique in

Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,Jean Bedel Bokassa named Gbezera-Bria deputy minister of diplomatic and consular delegations and payment of public debt on 9 June 1975. On 4 April 1976, Gbezera-Bria was appointed deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. He became minister of public service, labor, and social security on 14 December 1976, serving until his appointment as

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

on 18 April 1977. Gbezera-Bria served as foreign minister until 17 July 1978. Between 1980 and 1987 he was the Central African ambassador to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

in Geneva and New York. Back in the Central African government, from 1988 to 1990 he was foreign minister and minister of justice. On 28 May 1989, he signed the technical-scientific-cultural protocol of cooperation with Israel after President Andre Kolingba was unable to attend the conference due to Sudanese air traffic controllers refusing to allow his airplane to fly over Sudan's airspace. He served as private secretary to President Ange-Felix Patasse from 1995 to 17 June 1996, when he was again named foreign minister. Patasse tried to form a government of national unity and appointed Gbezera-Bria Prime Minister on 30 January 1997. He formed a new "Government of Action" after a mutiny in the armed forces. Charles Herve Wenezoui was named head of his cabinet. Anicet Georges Dologuélé replaced him as premier 4 January 1999. Gbezera-Bria subsequently served as Minister of State. He served as president of Ecobank Centafrique from 2007 to 2009. In 2008, he became chief of staff to

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� ...

. Gbezera-Bria received the award of the CAR merit in January 2012. On 8 January 2015, he was appointed ambassador to France by President

Catherine Samba-Panza Catherine Samba-Panza (born 26 June 1954) is a Central African lawyer and politician who served as interim President of the Central African Republic from 2014 to 2016. She was the first woman to hold the post of head of state in that country, as ...

. He presented his credentials to French President

François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. He previously was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (PS) from 1997 to 2008, Mayor of Tulle from ...

on 29 January 2015, and the two discussed the current situation in the Central African Republic.

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gbezera-Bria, Michel 1946 births Living people Central African Republic diplomats Prime Ministers of the Central African Republic Foreign ministers of the Central African Republic Permanent Representatives of the Central African Republic to the United Nations Government ministers of the Central African Republic People from Ouham Ambassadors of the Central African Republic to France