François Bozizé
Encyclopedia
François Bozizé Yangouvonda (born 14 October 1946) is the President
of the Central African Republic
. He came to power in March 2003 after leading a rebellion against President Ange-Félix Patassé
and ushered in a transitional period of government. He won the country's 2005 presidential election
; he received the most votes in the first round in March 2005, but less than a majority, requiring a runoff election, which he won in May 2005.
, a member of the Gbaya people
, and attended a military officers' training college in the Central African province of Bouar
. He became a second lieutenant in 1969 and a captain in 1975. He was appointed Brigadier General
by Emperor Jean-Bédel Bokassa
in 1978, after he beat a French noncommissioned officer who had disrespected the president. With General Josyhat Mayomokala, Bozizé ordered military personnel to attack young demonstrators who were asking for their parents' arrears
. After Bokassa was ousted by David Dacko
in 1979, Bozizé was appointed Minister of Defense. Following Dacko's ouster by André Kolingba
in September 1981, Bozizé was appointed Minister of Communications, but fled to the north of the country with 100 soldiers after his involvement in a failed coup attempt led by Ange-Félix Patassé
on 3 March 1982, in which he accused Kolingba of treason and proclaimed the change of power on Radio Bangui. He then obtained refuge
in France. Bozizé was arrested in Cotonou
, Benin in July 1989, and imprisoned and tortured. He was put on trial by Kolingba on charges of helping the coup d'état in May but was acquitted on 24 September 1991 and released from prison on 1 December. He then sought refuge in France, where he remained for nearly two years.
Under pressure to democratize
the government during the 1980s, Andre Kolingba had formed a political party
and held a referendum
, in which he was elected to a six-year term in office as president. After the fall of the Berlin Wall
, internal and external pressures eventually forced Kolingba to adopt an even more democratic approach. In March 1991, he agreed to share power with Edouard Frank
, who he named prime minister. He also established a commission to revise the constitution in order to promote pluralism. When he was pressured by the international community, notably a very vocal US ambassador to the Central African Republic, Daniel H. Simpson
, to hold fair elections, assisted by the UN Electoral Assistance Unit and monitored by international observers in 1992, he only won 10% of the vote and so he declared the elections invalid and had the Constitutional Council cancel the election. He rescheduled the election for September 1993. In the 1993 election, Bozizé ran for the presidency as an independent
, receiving 12,159 votes, 1.5% of the total votes cast. Patassé, Abel Goumba
and Kolingba received 37.32%, 21.68% and 12.10% of the vote, respectively, but since none of the candidates obtained a majority, a run-off election
between the top two candidates—Patassé and Goumba—was held. Patassé defeated Goumba by a 53.49%–46.51% vote and was elected president of the Central African Republic.
Bozizé showed no activity against Patassé and frequently crushed revolts against the president.
n troops and Congolese
rebels of the Movement for the Liberation of Congo
. Afterwards, Bozizé's loyalty was questioned, and in late October 2001 he was dismissed as army chief of staff. Fighting erupted when the government tried to arrest Bozizé on 3 November; after five days of this, government forces aided by Libyan troops captured the barracks where Bozizé was based, and Bozizé fled north to Chad
.
Fighting between government forces and Bozizé's rebels continued during 2002. From 25 October to 31 October, his forces unsuccessfully attacked on the capital, Bangui
; the Congolese MLC, who again came to Patassé's aid, were accused of looting and rape.
This period was marked by tensions between Chad and Patassé's government. Patassé's ruling party accused Chadian president Idriss Déby
of destabilizing the Central African Republic by supporting Bozizé with men and equipment.
On 15 March 2003, Bozizé finally succeeded in seizing power, with his forces entering Bangui
unopposed. Patassé was returning from a meeting in Niger
at the time, but could not land because Bozizé's forces controlled the airport. Patassé took refuge in Cameroon
and then Togo
the next year.
Bozizé appointed Abel Goumba as Prime Minister soon after seizing power in March, later making him vice-president in December and appointing Célestin Gaombalet
in his place as prime minister. Bozizé also suspended the country's 1995 constitution after seizing power, and a new constitution, reportedly similar to the old one, was approved by voters in a referendum
on 5 December 2004. After seizing power, Bozizé initially said he would not run in a planned future presidential election, but after the successful constitutional referendum, he announced his intention to stand as a candidate on 11 December:
On 30 December 2004, Bozizé was one of five candidates approved to run in the presidential election
scheduled for early 2005. On 4 January 2005, Bozizé announced that three initially excluded candidates would also be allowed to run, although former president Patassé was not included in either group. In late January, it was announced that more candidates would be permitted to run in the election, bringing the total to 11 and leaving only Patassé barred. The elections were also delayed by one month from the previously scheduled date of 13 February to 13 March.
Bozizé placed first in the 13 March election, taking just under 43% of the vote according to official results. He faced Patassé's last prime minister, Martin Ziguélé
, in a second round of voting; this was held on 8 May and according to official results announced on 24 May, he won with 64.6% of the vote. He was sworn in on 11 June.
The National Assembly authorized Bozizé to rule by decree for three months, from 1 January to 31 March 2006; his Prime Minister, Élie Doté
, said that this period of rule by decree was successful, enabling Bozizé to take measures to streamline the civil service.
In addition to being President, Bozizé has been Minister of National Defense since taking power. At the end of the transitional period, he retained the defense portfolio when he appointed a new government under Doté in June 2005, and he also kept it in a September 2006 cabinet reshuffle.
Facing a general strike over wage arrears for civil servants in January 2008, Bozizé appointed a new government headed by Faustin-Archange Touadéra
, an academic figure who was politically unknown. In that government he kept the defense portfolio, while also appointing his son Francis Bozizé to work under him as Minister-Delegate. Bozizé's sister, Yvonne M'Boïssona, who had been Minister of Tourism, was reappointed to the government as Minister of Water, Forests, Hunting, Fishing, and the Environment.
In February 2010, Kolingba died in France. In early March, Bozizé presided over his burial ceremony in Bangui. The same week, Bozizé signed a presidential decree setting the date for the next presidential election as 25 April 2010.
The elections were first postponed to 16 May, and then indefinitely. The parliament was asked to pass a change to the constitution allowing the President to continue its mandate until elections could be organized. Some sources saw the delay in elections as a constitutional coup, and didn't expect elections to take place anytime soon.However, elections were held in January and March 2011. Bozizé and his party both won in the elections.
Heads of state of the Central African Republic (and Central African Empire)
This is a complete list of the heads of state of the Central African Republic and Central African Empire. There have been five heads of state in the history of the Central African Republic and Central African Empire since independence was obtained from the French on 13 August 1960...
of the Central African Republic
Central African Republic
The Central African Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It borders Chad in the north, Sudan in the north east, South Sudan in the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo in the south, and Cameroon in the west. The CAR covers a land area of about ,...
. He came to power in March 2003 after leading a rebellion against President Ange-Félix Patassé
Ange-Félix Patassé
Ange-Félix Patassé 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...
and ushered in a transitional period of government. He won the country's 2005 presidential election
Central African Republic elections, 2005
Presidential and parliamentary elections were held in the Central African Republic on March 13, 2005 and May 8, 2005 , marking the end of the transitional process that began with the seizure of power by François Bozizé in a March 2003 coup...
; he received the most votes in the first round in March 2005, but less than a majority, requiring a runoff election, which he won in May 2005.
Early life and Kolingba's rule
Bozizé was born in GabonGabon
Gabon , officially the Gabonese Republic is a state in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, and with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south. The Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean is to the west...
, a member of the Gbaya people
Gbaya people
The Gbaya live in Central African Republic, East-central Cameroon, the north of the Republic of Congo, and the northwest of the Democratic Republic of Congo. They numbered 970,000 at the end of the 20th century. They are the largest ethnic group in the Central African Republic, comprising 34% of...
, and attended a military officers' training college in the Central African province of Bouar
Bouar
Bouar is a market town in the western Central African Republic, lying on the main road from Bangui to the frontier with Cameroon . The city has a population of 40,353, while the whole sous-préfecture has a population of 96,595 and is the capital of Nana-Mambéré prefecture...
. He became a second lieutenant in 1969 and a captain in 1975. He was appointed Brigadier General
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
by Emperor Jean-Bédel Bokassa
Jean-Bédel Bokassa
Jean-Bédel Bokassa , a military officer, was the head of state of the Central African Republic and its successor state, the Central African Empire, from his coup d'état on 1 January 1966 until 20 September 1979...
in 1978, after he beat a French noncommissioned officer who had disrespected the president. With General Josyhat Mayomokala, Bozizé ordered military personnel to attack young demonstrators who were asking for their parents' arrears
Arrears
Arrears is a legal term for the part of a debt that is overdue after missing one or more required payments. The amount of the arrears is the amount accrued from the date on which the first missed payment was due...
. After Bokassa was ousted by David Dacko
David Dacko
David Dacko was the first President of the Central African Republic , from August 14, 1960 to January 1, 1966, and the third president of the CAR from September 21, 1979 to September 1, 1981...
in 1979, Bozizé was appointed Minister of Defense. Following Dacko's ouster by André Kolingba
André Kolingba
André-Dieudonné Kolingba was the fourth president of the Central African Republic , from 1 September 1981 until 1 October 1993. He took power from President David Dacko in a bloodless coup d'état in 1981 and lost power to Ange-Félix Patassé in a democratic election held in 1993...
in September 1981, Bozizé was appointed Minister of Communications, but fled to the north of the country with 100 soldiers after his involvement in a failed coup attempt led by Ange-Félix Patassé
Ange-Félix Patassé
Ange-Félix Patassé 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...
on 3 March 1982, in which he accused Kolingba of treason and proclaimed the change of power on Radio Bangui. He then obtained refuge
Refugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
in France. Bozizé was arrested in Cotonou
Cotonou
-Demographics:*1979: 320,348 *1992: 536,827 *2002: 665,100 *2005: 690,584 The main languages spoken in Cotonou include the Fon language, Aja language, Yoruba language and French.-Transport:...
, Benin in July 1989, and imprisoned and tortured. He was put on trial by Kolingba on charges of helping the coup d'état in May but was acquitted on 24 September 1991 and released from prison on 1 December. He then sought refuge in France, where he remained for nearly two years.
Under pressure to democratize
Democratization
Democratization is the transition to a more democratic political regime. It may be the transition from an authoritarian regime to a full democracy, a transition from an authoritarian political system to a semi-democracy or transition from a semi-authoritarian political system to a democratic...
the government during the 1980s, Andre Kolingba had formed a political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
and held a referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
, in which he was elected to a six-year term in office as president. After the fall of the Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
, internal and external pressures eventually forced Kolingba to adopt an even more democratic approach. In March 1991, he agreed to share power with Edouard Frank
Edouard Frank
Édouard Frank is a Central African magistrate and political figure. He was Prime Minister of the Central African Republic from 15 March 1991 to 4 December 1992.Frank presided over the 1986–1987 trial of former Emperor Jean-Bédel Bokassa...
, who he named prime minister. He also established a commission to revise the constitution in order to promote pluralism. When he was pressured by the international community, notably a very vocal US ambassador to the Central African Republic, Daniel H. Simpson
Daniel H. Simpson
Daniel Howard Simpson is a former American Foreign Service Officer. He was the United States Ambassador to the Central African Republic , Special Envoy to Somalia and the Ambassador to the Congo-Kinshasa as well as undertaking other overseas assignments in Burundi, South Africa, Zaire Iceland,...
, to hold fair elections, assisted by the UN Electoral Assistance Unit and monitored by international observers in 1992, he only won 10% of the vote and so he declared the elections invalid and had the Constitutional Council cancel the election. He rescheduled the election for September 1993. In the 1993 election, Bozizé ran for the presidency as an independent
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
, receiving 12,159 votes, 1.5% of the total votes cast. Patassé, Abel Goumba
Abel Goumba
Abel Nguéndé Goumba was a Central African political figure...
and Kolingba received 37.32%, 21.68% and 12.10% of the vote, respectively, but since none of the candidates obtained a majority, a run-off election
Two-round system
The two-round system is a voting system used to elect a single winner where the voter casts a single vote for their chosen candidate...
between the top two candidates—Patassé and Goumba—was held. Patassé defeated Goumba by a 53.49%–46.51% vote and was elected president of the Central African Republic.
Supporting Patassé
For many years Bozizé was considered a supporter of Patassé and helped him suppress army mutinies in 1996 and 1997. Bozizé was named the Armed Forces Chief of Staff.Bozizé showed no activity against Patassé and frequently crushed revolts against the president.
Against Patassé
On 28 May 2001, a coup was attempted against Patassé and defeated with the help of LibyaLibya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
n troops and Congolese
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
rebels of the Movement for the Liberation of Congo
Movement for the Liberation of Congo
The Movement for the Liberation of the Congo is a political party in Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was a rebel group operating in the Democratic Republic of Congo that fought the government throughout the Second Congo War. It subsequently took part in the transitional government and is now...
. Afterwards, Bozizé's loyalty was questioned, and in late October 2001 he was dismissed as army chief of staff. Fighting erupted when the government tried to arrest Bozizé on 3 November; after five days of this, government forces aided by Libyan troops captured the barracks where Bozizé was based, and Bozizé fled north to Chad
Chad
Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...
.
Fighting between government forces and Bozizé's rebels continued during 2002. From 25 October to 31 October, his forces unsuccessfully attacked on the capital, Bangui
Bangui
-Law and government:Bangui is an autonomous commune of the Central African Republic. With an area of 67 km², it is by far the smallest high-level administrative division of the CAR in area but the highest in population...
; the Congolese MLC, who again came to Patassé's aid, were accused of looting and rape.
This period was marked by tensions between Chad and Patassé's government. Patassé's ruling party accused Chadian president Idriss Déby
Idriss Déby
General Idriss Déby Itno is the President of Chad and the head of the Patriotic Salvation Movement. Déby is of the Bidyat clan of the Zaghawa ethnic group. He added "Itno" to his surname in January 2006.-Rise to power:...
of destabilizing the Central African Republic by supporting Bozizé with men and equipment.
Capture of Bangui, transition period, and presidential election
Bangui
-Law and government:Bangui is an autonomous commune of the Central African Republic. With an area of 67 km², it is by far the smallest high-level administrative division of the CAR in area but the highest in population...
unopposed. Patassé was returning from a meeting in Niger
Niger
Niger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...
at the time, but could not land because Bozizé's forces controlled the airport. Patassé took refuge in Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
and then Togo
Togo
Togo, officially the Togolese Republic , is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately with a population of approximately...
the next year.
Bozizé appointed Abel Goumba as Prime Minister soon after seizing power in March, later making him vice-president in December and appointing Célestin Gaombalet
Célestin Gaombalet
Célestin Leroy Gaombalet is a Central African politician who was Prime Minister of the Central African Republic from 2003 to 2005. He has been President of the National Assembly since 2005.-Biography:Gaombalet was born in the village of Grimari....
in his place as prime minister. Bozizé also suspended the country's 1995 constitution after seizing power, and a new constitution, reportedly similar to the old one, was approved by voters in a referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
on 5 December 2004. After seizing power, Bozizé initially said he would not run in a planned future presidential election, but after the successful constitutional referendum, he announced his intention to stand as a candidate on 11 December:
- After thinking thoroughly, and being deeply convinced and keeping in mind the nation's interest, I grasped the deep sense of my people's calls. As a citizen, I'll take my responsibility.
- I'll contest the election to achieve the task of rebuilding the country, which is dear to me and according to your wish.
On 30 December 2004, Bozizé was one of five candidates approved to run in the presidential election
Central African Republic elections, 2005
Presidential and parliamentary elections were held in the Central African Republic on March 13, 2005 and May 8, 2005 , marking the end of the transitional process that began with the seizure of power by François Bozizé in a March 2003 coup...
scheduled for early 2005. On 4 January 2005, Bozizé announced that three initially excluded candidates would also be allowed to run, although former president Patassé was not included in either group. In late January, it was announced that more candidates would be permitted to run in the election, bringing the total to 11 and leaving only Patassé barred. The elections were also delayed by one month from the previously scheduled date of 13 February to 13 March.
Bozizé placed first in the 13 March election, taking just under 43% of the vote according to official results. He faced Patassé's last prime minister, Martin Ziguélé
Martin Ziguélé
Martin Ziguélé is a Central African politician who was Prime Minister of the Central African Republic from 2001 to 2003...
, in a second round of voting; this was held on 8 May and according to official results announced on 24 May, he won with 64.6% of the vote. He was sworn in on 11 June.
The National Assembly authorized Bozizé to rule by decree for three months, from 1 January to 31 March 2006; his Prime Minister, Élie Doté
Élie Doté
Élie Doté was Prime Minister of the Central African Republic from June 2005 to January 2008.-Biography:Born in Bangui, Doté has a doctorate degree in rural economy and worked at the Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Ministry from 1974 to 1980 before becoming an expert at the African Development...
, said that this period of rule by decree was successful, enabling Bozizé to take measures to streamline the civil service.
In addition to being President, Bozizé has been Minister of National Defense since taking power. At the end of the transitional period, he retained the defense portfolio when he appointed a new government under Doté in June 2005, and he also kept it in a September 2006 cabinet reshuffle.
Facing a general strike over wage arrears for civil servants in January 2008, Bozizé appointed a new government headed by Faustin-Archange Touadéra
Faustin-Archange Touadéra
Faustin-Archange Touadéra has been Prime Minister of the Central African Republic since January 2008.-Background and academic career:Touadéra was born in Bangui; his family was originally from Damara, to the north of Bangui...
, an academic figure who was politically unknown. In that government he kept the defense portfolio, while also appointing his son Francis Bozizé to work under him as Minister-Delegate. Bozizé's sister, Yvonne M'Boïssona, who had been Minister of Tourism, was reappointed to the government as Minister of Water, Forests, Hunting, Fishing, and the Environment.
In February 2010, Kolingba died in France. In early March, Bozizé presided over his burial ceremony in Bangui. The same week, Bozizé signed a presidential decree setting the date for the next presidential election as 25 April 2010.
The elections were first postponed to 16 May, and then indefinitely. The parliament was asked to pass a change to the constitution allowing the President to continue its mandate until elections could be organized. Some sources saw the delay in elections as a constitutional coup, and didn't expect elections to take place anytime soon.However, elections were held in January and March 2011. Bozizé and his party both won in the elections.