Marie Belkine (1 December 1948 – April 2021), commonly known as Marie Agba-Otikpo, was a

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 ...

politician. She was a member of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

and the head of the Defence and Security Commission (CDS).

Early life and education

Agba-Otikpo was born on 1 December 1948 in

Bocaranga Bocaranga is a sub-prefecture in the prefecture of Ouham-Pendé in the Central African Republic. The city must not be confused with Bocaranga I, Bocaranga II, Bocaranga III and Bocaranga IV. These are smaller villages along the road from Bocaranga ...

. At the start of her career, Agba-Otikpo practiced as a social worker and was employed at the Central African Republic embassy 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 ...

as an advisor in social affairs.

Political career

Aligning herself with President

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 ...

, Agba-Otikpo was elected to the National Assembly as the MLPC representative for Ngaoundaye first district in 1998. She received 76.3 percent of the votes, and served as the administrator of the assembly from 1999 to 2000. Agba-Otikpo was reelected on 8 May 2005. She was a member of the

Pan-African Parliament The Pan-African Parliament (PAP), also known as the African Parliament, is the legislative body of the African Union. It held its inaugural session in March 2004. The Parliament exercises oversight, and has advisory and consultative powers, ha ...

from 2005 to 2011, and a member of the

Committee on Health, Labour and Social Affairs The Committee on Health, Labour, and Social Affairs is one of the ten permanent committees of the Pan-African Parliament. It takes the following actions: * Consider strategies and programmes for the improvement of the lives of African peopl ...

. She was defeated at the 2011 parliamentary election. Agba-Otikpo was also a member of REFPAC (Network of Central African Women Parliamentarians) in 2007. On April 29, 2015, Agba-Otikpo reestablished the Ministry of Public Security after the April 2015

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 ...

police strike. At the time of the police strike, Agba-Otikpo was in charge of the Commission of Defense and Security for the National Transitional Council (CNT). In the 2015-16 general election, Agba-Otikpo ran for the 2nd

Ngaoundaye Ngaoundaye is a sub-prefecture of Lim-Pendé in 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 ...

riding of

Ouham-Pendé Ouham-Pendé is one of the 20 prefectures of the Central African Republic. Its capital is Bozoum. The prefecture covers an area of 18,520 km² and, according to official estimates, its population was 254,649 inhabitants in 2024. At the time of ...

for the Party for Democratic Governance. After a runoff election in April 2016, she was defeated by Antoine Koirokpi. She died in April 2021.URCA testimony
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Agba-Otikpo, Marie 1948 births 2021 deaths Members of the Pan-African Parliament from the Central African Republic Central African Republic women in politics 20th-century women politicians 21st-century women politicians People from Ouham-Pendé Women members of the Pan-African Parliament