Jean-Bédel Bokassa

Jean-Bédel Bokassa
Name	Jean-Bédel Bokassa
Caption	Bokassa in 1970
Office	President of the Central African Republic
Term start	1 January 1966
Term end	4 December 1976
Predecessor	David Dacko
Successor	Himself (as Emperor)
Office2	Emperor of Central Africa
Term start2	4 December 1976
Term end2	21 September 1979
Predecessor2	Himself (as President)
Successor2	David Dacko (as President)
Birth date	22 February 1921
Birth place	Bobangui, French Equatorial Africa
Death date	3 November 1996 (aged 75)
Death place	Bangui, Central African Republic
Spouse	* Catherine Denguiadé * 16 others
Children	64 (claimed)
Allegiance	* French Third Republic * Free France * French Fourth Republic * Central African Republic
Branch	* French Army * Central African Armed Forces
Rank	General
Battles	World War II, First Indochina War, Algerian War
Party	Movement for the Social Evolution of Black Africa

Jean-Bédel Bokassa was a Central African military officer and politician who ruled his country with an increasingly autocratic and brutal hand from 1966 until his overthrow in 1979. He seized power in a coup d'état against his cousin, President David Dacko, and later declared himself Emperor of Central Africa in a lavish and infamous coronation ceremony in 1977. His regime, marked by extreme corruption, human rights abuses, and megalomania, was eventually toppled with the assistance of France and former colonial power, leading to his exile, eventual return, trial, and imprisonment.

Early life and military career

Born in the village of Bobangui in what was then French Equatorial Africa, Bokassa was the son of a village chief of the Mbaka people. His father was executed by French colonial administrators after a confrontation, and his mother died by suicide shortly after. Orphaned, he was educated by Catholic missionaries and later volunteered for the French Army in 1939. He served with distinction in World War II, fighting with Free French troops in North Africa and participating in the invasion of Southern France. His military career continued through the First Indochina War and the Algerian War, earning him the Croix de Guerre and rising to the rank of captain in the French forces.

Rise to power

Following the independence of the Central African Republic in 1960 under President David Dacko, Bokassa, his cousin, was invited to head the new nation's military as a colonel. The country quickly fell under the political and economic sway of France, governed by Charles de Gaulle. As Dacko's rule became increasingly unpopular and the economy faltered, Bokassa saw an opportunity. On 1 January 1966, while Dacko was away from the capital Bangui, Bokassa led the bloodless Saint-Sylvestre coup with the tacit support of the French military, overthrowing his cousin and declaring himself president.

Rule of the Central African Republic

Bokassa initially enjoyed some popular support and maintained close ties with France, relying on French military and financial aid. He appointed Jean-Arthur Bandio as a key minister and joined the Organisation of African Unity. However, his rule quickly became despotic, characterized by a pervasive cult of personality, arbitrary arrests, and the suppression of all political opposition. He frequently changed government positions and declared himself President for life in 1972. His economic policies led to bankruptcy, and his personal corruption was legendary, with state funds funneled into his private accounts. Reports of extreme violence, including the alleged participation in the murder of prisoners, began to surface.

Central African Empire and coronation

In a dramatic display of megalomania, Bokassa dissolved the republic on 4 December 1976 and proclaimed the Central African Empire, crowning himself Emperor Bokassa I. His coronation ceremony on 4 December 1977 was a grotesquely opulent spectacle modeled on that of Napoleon Bonaparte, costing an estimated quarter of the nation's annual budget. The event, attended by few foreign dignitaries aside from ideological ally Idi Amin of Uganda, was widely ridiculed internationally. Domestically, his brutality peaked in 1979 with the massacre of schoolchildren in Bangui who had protested against mandatory school uniforms.

Overthrow and exile

The Bangui massacre was the final catalyst for international action. With his regime condemned by organizations like Amnesty International and his behavior an embarrassment to his patron France, now led by Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, French support evaporated. In Operation Barracuda, French paratroopers assisted in a coup that reinstated the deposed David Dacko on 21 September 1979 while Bokassa was visiting Muammar al-Gaddafi in Libya. Bokassa fled into exile, finding initial refuge in Côte d'Ivoire before being granted asylum in France, where he lived at the Château de Hardricourt outside Paris.

Trial, later life, and death

Following the fall of the Dacko government in 1981 and the rise of André Kolingba, Bokassa unexpectedly returned to the Central African Republic in 1986, believing he would be welcomed. He was immediately arrested and put on trial for a litany of crimes, including murder, embezzlement, and cannibalism. In a highly publicized trial, he was found guilty of murder and other offenses but was acquitted of the cannibalism charges. He was sentenced to death, a penalty later commuted to life imprisonment by President André Kolingba. After the restoration of democracy and the election of Ange-Félix Patassé in 1993, Bokassa was released in a general amnesty. He spent his final years in Bangui, claiming to be a born-again Christian, and died of a heart attack on 3 November 1996. He was buried at his former palace at Berengo.

Category:Central African Republic politicians Category:Heads of state of the Central African Republic Category:1996 deaths