Emperor of Central Africa (french: Empereur de Centrafrique) was the title used by

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 ...

from 4 December 1976, who was crowned on 4 December 1977 in a lavish ceremony that was estimated to cost 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 ...

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

20 million (equivalent to $ million in ). Although nominally a

constitutional monarch A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...

, in practice Bokassa ruled with absolute power. For all intents and purposes, the country was still a military dictatorship, as had been the case with 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 ...

since Bokassa took power in the 1966 coup d'état. Bokassa I attempted to justify his actions by claiming that creating a monarchy would help Central Africa "stand out" from the rest of the continent, and earn the world's respect. The coronation consumed one third of the nation's annual budget and all of the French aid that year, but despite generous invitations, no foreign leaders attended the event. Many thought Bokassa was insane, and compared his egotistical extravagance with his contemporary – Africa's other well-known eccentric dictator,

President of Uganda The president of the Republic of Uganda is the head of state and the head of government of Uganda. The president leads the executive branch of the government of Uganda and is the commander-in-chief of the Uganda People's Defence Force. The ...

Idi Amin Idi Amin Dada Oumee (, ; 16 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. He ruled as a military dictator and is considered one of the most brutal despots in modern w ...

List of Rulers

Colours

List of Emperor and Head of the House

Gallery

File:Imperial Crown of the Central African Empire.jpg, Imperial Crown of Bokassa I. File:Imperial Standard of Bokassa I (1976–1979).svg, Imperial Standard of Bokassa I.

References

* . {{Heads of state and government of Africa 1970s in the Central African Republic Political history of the Central African Republic African monarchs Positions of authority Titles of national or ethnic leadership Titles held only by one person

List of Rulers

Colours

List of Emperor and Head of the House

Gallery

See also

References