Rene-Guy Charles Okala (19 October 1910 – 16 September 1973) was a

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

ian politician. Born in Bilomo in the Centre Region in 1910, he attended a Catholic primary school in

Yaoundé Yaoundé (; , ) is the Capital city, capital city of Cameroon. It has a population of more than 2.8 million which makes it the second-largest city in the country after the port city Douala. It lies in the Centre Region (Cameroon), Centre Region o ...

.Mark Dike DeLancey, Rebecca Neh Mbuh & Mark W DeLancey (2010) ''Historical Dictionary of the Republic of Cameroon'', Scarecrow Press, p295–296 Following

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Okala was elected to the local assembly and became a member of the

French Senate The Senate (, ) is the upper house of the French Parliament, with the lower house being the National Assembly (France), National Assembly, the two houses constituting the legislature of France. It is made up of 348 senators (''sénateurs'' and ...

in 1947, serving until 1955.Okala Charles
French Senate He was

minister of justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

from xxx to xxx. In 1959 he established the Socialist Party of Cameroon (PSC), which contested the 1960 elections as part of the Group of Cameroonian Progressives. In 1960 he was appointed independent Cameroon's first Foreign Minister. Okala was sacked in 1961 and arrested in June 1962, then tried for and convicted of

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...

. He was released from prison in 1965 as part of a deal that involved the dissolution of the PSC, then joined the

Cameroonian Union The Cameroonian Union () was a Cameroonian pro-independence party active in the French territory of Cameroun. The UC was formed by Ahmadou Ahidjo in 1958 when he broke from André-Marie Mbida and the Bloc Démocratique Camerounaise. Under Ahidjo, ...

and its successor the Cameroon National Union. He was appointed a

roving ambassador An ambassador-at-large is a diplomat, a secretary, or a minister of the highest rank who is accredited to represent a country and its people internationally. Unlike an ambassador-in-residence, who is usually limited to a country or embassy, the ...

by President

Ahmadou Ahidjo Ahmadou Babatoura Ahidjo (24 August 192430 November 1989) was a Cameroonian politician who was the first president of Cameroon from 1960 until 1982. He was previously the first Prime Minister of Cameroon, Prime Minister from the country's indepe ...

in 1968, before falling out of favour. He died in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 1973.

References

French senators of the Fourth Republic 1910 births 1973 deaths Senators of French Equatorial Africa Ministers of foreign affairs of Cameroon Justice ministers of Cameroon People from Centre Region (Cameroon) 20th-century Cameroonian politicians {{Cameroon-politician-stub