Jean-Bédel Bokassa

Jean-Bédel Bokassa was a Central African military officer and ruler who governed the Central African Republic from 1966, proclaiming himself emperor in 1976, until his overthrow in 1979.

French Equatorial Africa: A French colonial federation in Central Africa that existed from 1910 to 1958. Bokassa’s birthplace, Ubangi-Shari, belonged to this federation under French rule.
Central African Armed Forces: The military forces of the Central African Republic. Bokassa’s position as army chief gave him the leverage to take power.
Central African Empire: The monarchy proclaimed by Bokassa in 1976, which existed until his overthrow in 1979. Bokassa transformed the republic into this short-lived empire and ruled as Emperor Bokassa I.
Central African Republic: A landlocked country in Central Africa, independent from France since 1960. The republic was renamed and replaced by the empire Bokassa proclaimed in 1976.
Ubangi-Shari: A French colony in Central Africa that became the Central African Republic in 1960. Bokassa was born in this colony in 1921.
One-party state: A political system in which one party holds a monopoly on legal political power. Bokassa dissolved the legislature and concentrated authority in his regime.
Operation Caban: The French operation that helped remove Bokassa from power in September 1979. French forces supported the coup that ended Bokassa’s rule and restored David Dacko.
Monarchy: A system of government headed by a monarch, whose office is usually inherited. Bokassa styled his regime as a monarchy despite having seized power through a coup.
French Army: The land warfare branch of France’s armed forces. Bokassa served in the French military before returning to the newly independent Central African Republic.
Personalist dictatorship: An authoritarian regime in which power centers on one ruler rather than a party or military institution. Bokassa’s government increasingly depended on his personal command and patronage.

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History of the Central African RepublicRelated: His later rule transformed the post-independence political order.