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

heads of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "

he head of state He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...

being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

of the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to Central African Republic–Chad border, the north, Sudan to Central African Republic–Sudan border, the northeast, South Sudan to Central ...

and the

Central African Empire The Central African Empire () was established on 4 December 1976 when the then-President of the Central African Republic, Jean-Bédel Bokassa, declared himself Emperor of Central Africa. The empire would fall less than three years later when ...

since independence was obtained from

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

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) was a Central African politician and military officer who served as the second president of the Central African Republic (CAR), after seizing power in the Saint-Sylvestre coup d ...

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

emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

from 1976 to 1979), while

David Dacko David Dacko (; 24 March 1930 – 20 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 as the third President of the Central African Repub ...

(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 (25 January 1937 – 5 April 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'état ...

, and

François Bozizé François Bozizé Yangouvonda (born 14 October 1946) is a Central African Republic, Central African politician who was List of heads of state of the Central African Republic, President of the Central African Republic from 2003 to 2013. He was th ...

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 Janu ...

, since 30 March 2016.

Succession

Before the adoption of the 2023 constitution, the president of the National Assembly was the constitutional successor of the president in the event of a vacancy.

Term

Before the adoption of the 2023 constitution, there was a two-term limit for the president in the

Constitution of the Central African Republic The Constitution of the Central African Republic was approved by referendum on December 15, 2015 and formally adopted on March 27, 2016.

. The term limit was not met by any president. The constitution of 2023 removed term-limits and extended the presidential term from five years to seven years.

List of officeholders

;Political parties ;Other affiliations

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 politician. During the late 1950s, he headed the government in the period prior to independence from France, and following independence he was an unsuccessful ...

in an internal power struggle. Dacko had support from the

French government The Government of France (, ), officially the Government of the French Republic (, ), exercises Executive (government), executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister of France, prime minister, who is the head of government, ...

. * Bokassa seized power by staging a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

from 31 December 1965 until 1 January 1966. Bokassa forced Dacko to officially resign from the presidency at 03:20

WAT A wat (, ; , ; , ; ; , ) is a type of Buddhist and Hindu temple in Cambodia, Laos, East Shan State (Myanmar), Yunnan (China), the Southern Province of Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Etymology The word ''wat'' is borrowed from the Sanskrit ''v ...

(02:20

UTC Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the primary time standard globally used to regulate clocks and time. It establishes a reference for the current time, forming the basis for civil time and time zones. UTC facilitates international communica ...

) 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. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

against the Dacko government on 31 December 1965 – 1 January 1966. After becoming president, Bokassa took control of

MESAN The Movement for the Social Evolution of Black Africa (; MESAN) was a political party in the Central African Republic. In its original form, it was a nationalist party that sought to affirm Black people, black humanity and advocated for the inde ...

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 language, Sango, formerly written Bangi in English) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities in the Central African Republic, largest city of the Central African Republic. It was established as a Fren ...

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 school, primary and secondary schools in various countries and are generally widespread in Africa, Asia, O ...

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, David Dacko. It followed up Operation Caban of 21 September 1979, a bloodless military operation in w ...

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 supportin ...

) 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 (, MLPC) is a political party in the Central African Republic. It is a member of the Progressive Alliance. History The party was established on 28 March 1978 in Paris by former Prim ...

party and ran on the

platform Platform may refer to: Arts * Platform, an arts centre at The Bridge, Easterhouse, Glasgow * ''Platform'' (1993 film), a 1993 Bollywood action film * ''Platform'' (2000 film), a 2000 film by Jia Zhangke * '' The Platform'' (2019 film) * Pla ...

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 city, capital and List of cities in Chad, largest city of Chad. It is also a Provinces of Chad, special statute region, divided into 10 districts or ''arrondissements'', similar to the city of Paris. Originally calle ...

Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...

on 10 January 2014.

Timeline

Latest election

References

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

External links

Official Website

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

Heads of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "

being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

Heads of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "

being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

Heads of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "

being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

Heads of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "

being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

Succession

Term

List of officeholders

Footnotes

Timeline

Latest election

See also

References

External links