This article lists the heads of state of the Central African Republic. There have been seven

heads of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and ...

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 ...

since independence was obtained from the French on 13 August 1960. This list includes not only those persons who were sworn into office as President of the Central African Republic but also those who served as ''de facto'' heads of state.

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 ...

served as a ''de facto'' head of state (and also reigned as

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( ...

from 1976 to 1979), while David Dacko (who served as ''de facto'' head of state from 1979 to 1981),

André Kolingba André-Dieudonné Kolingba (12 August 1936 – 7 February 2010) was a Central African politician, who was the fourth President of the Central African Republic (CAR), from 1 September 1981 until 1 October 1993. He took power from President Davi ...

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'� ...

, and

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- ...

were elected into office at some point during their tenure. To date, Kolingba is the only former head of state of the Central African Republic to voluntarily step down from the office through a democratic process, following the 1993 general election. The current President of the Central African Republic is

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 ...

, since 30 March 2016.

Political affiliations

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

Heads of state

Footnotes

* Dacko became the official President of the Central African Republic after defeating

Abel Goumba Abel Nguéndé Goumba (; 18 September 1926 – 11 May 2009) was a Central African political figure. During the late 1950s, he headed the government in the period prior to independence from France, and following independence he was an unsuc ...

in an internal power struggle. Dacko had support from the

French government The Government of France ( French: ''Gouvernement français''), officially the Government of the French Republic (''Gouvernement de la République française'' ), exercises executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister, who ...

. * Bokassa seized power by staging a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

from 31 December 1965 until 1 January 1966. Bokassa forced Dacko to officially resign from the presidency at 03:20 WAT (02:20 UTC) on 1 January. * Bokassa staged a

military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

against the Dacko government on 31 December 1965 – 1 January 1966. After becoming president, Bokassa took control of MESAN and imposed one-party rule under MESAN. * Bokassa, then- president for life of the Central African Republic, instituted a new constitution at the session of the MESAN congress and declared the republic a monarchy, the

(CAE). Bokassa became the emperor of the CAE as "Bokassa I". * By 1979, French support for Bokassa had all but eroded after the government's brutal suppression of rioting 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 Uban ...

and massacre of schoolchildren who had protested against wearing the expensive, government-required

school uniform A school uniform is a uniform worn by students primarily for a school or otherwise an educational institution.They are common in primary and secondary schools in various countries. An example of a uniform would be requiring button-down shirts ...

s. Dacko, who was Bokassa's personal adviser at the time, managed to leave for Paris where the French convinced him to cooperate in a coup to remove Bokassa from power and restore him to the presidency. The French successfully executed

Operation Barracuda Operation Barracuda was a military operation by France during 1979-1981, to return to power the former President of the Central African Republic, Mr David Dacko. It followed up Operation Caban of 21 September 1979, a bloodless military operation i ...

on 20–21 September 1979 and installed Dacko as president. * General Kolingba (who was also the armed forces

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

) overthrew Dacko from the presidency in a bloodless coup. * On 21 September 1985, Kolingba dissolved the Military Committee for National Recovery, and created the positions of Head of State and President. * A constitution was adopted by a referendum on 21 November 1986 and Kolingba was elected to a six-year term in office. * The country held a multiparty presidential election on 22 August and 19 September 1993. Patassé was the candidate from the

Movement for the Liberation of the Central African People The Movement for the Liberation of the Central African People (french: Mouvement pour la Libération du Peuple Centrafricain, MLPC) is a political party in the Central African Republic. It has been an observer member of the Socialist Internatio ...

party and ran on the

platform Platform may refer to: Technology * Computing platform, a framework on which applications may be run * Platform game, a genre of video games * Car platform, a set of components shared by several vehicle models * Weapons platform, a system or ...

that he would pay the previously withheld salaries to soldiers and civil servants. Patassé defeated Dacko, Kolingba, Bozizé and

to win the election. * Bozizé's second coup attempt was successful; he seized power in

on 15 March 2003. * Djotodia ousted Bozizé in the 2012–13 conflict; he seized power in

on 24 March 2013. * Under pressure from other central African heads of state gathered for a crisis summit on the situation in CAR, Djotodia resigned in

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 c ...

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

Latest election

References

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

External links

Official Website

BBC News Timeline: Central African Republic
{{Heads of state and government of Africa

Heads of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and ...