Jean-Bedel Bokassa , (1921 - 1996) was President of the Central African Republic, then autoproclamé emperor under the name of Bokassa  Ier , of 1966 with 1979.

Biography

Childhood

Wire of immigrants of the Ivory Coast more precisely Abé, It was born the February 22nd 1921 with Bobangui, small village of the Lobaye, in Centrafrique. It lost his parents at the six years age: his/her father (Mindongon Ngboundoulou), which protested against the brutality of the colonial concessionary companies, was stopped, summarily considered and carried out by the French. His/her mother (Yokowo) committed suicide little time afterwards. It was raised by its family.

Years in the French Army

The missionaries of the schools which he attended wanted to make a priest of it but he engaged finally in the French Army in May 1939. He was thereafter soldier of the Free French Army and took part in the unloading of Provence and the battle of the Rhine. After the war, he became pupil of the military academy Saint-Louis with the Senegal then with Châlons-sur-Marne. He fought then in Indo-China and in Algérie, obtained the Légion of honor and the Military Cross and left the French Army with the rank with Capitaine.

Political beginnings in Central Africa

His/her cousin David Dacko, president of the Central Africa coldly independent, called upon his services to reorganize the army of the country and chief of staff in 1964 appointed it. With the end of the year 1965, the chief of the gendarmerie tried a coup d'etat against David Dacko and also sent gendarmes to try to stop Jean-Bedel Bokassa. Turning over the situation to its profit, Bokassa neutralized the gendarmerie and reversed Dacko with its own advantage. It thus reached the capacity the December 31st 1965, with the favor of what one called the “coup d'etat of New Year's Eve”.

Years of being able

Called “the roughneck soldier” by the Général de Gaulle (that officially in Paris in March 1969 receives it), Jean-Bedel Bokassa was rather popular during the first seven years that it passed to the capacity, in spite of the violence of his mode which practiced summary torture and executions. The April 2nd 1968, it took part in the creation of the Union of the States of Africa Centrale (UEAC) with the Congo-Kinshasa and the Chad. Bokassa defended the return to the ground, it thus set up a land reform the August 30th 1970. Politically, he preached the value of work and denounced corruption and the middle-class. Its mode was supported by the France, which considered it favorable to the defense of its interests in the area.

Jean-Bedel Bokassa however reinforced his dictatorial influence, car proclaimed life president the March 2nd 1972 then promoted Maréchal the May 19th 1974; he declared Musulman in 1976 and changed his name into Salah Eddine Ahmed Bokassa with the objective to like Kadhafi to profit from financial aid Libya.

In September 1976, it dissolves the government to replace it by the Council of the Centrafricaine revolution. His/her cousin David Dacko, of which it had took the place with the report heading and that it had made imprison, becomes his adviser.

Bokassa crowned finally emperor the December 4th 1977 during a ceremony to which 5  000 guests assisted, in particular the French Minister for the Co-operation, Robert Galley; no Head of State made displacement however. He covered for the occasion the same costume as the Maréchal Ney at the time of the sacring of Napoleon I {{er}}. Its complete title was “Emperor of Central Africa by the will of the Centrafricain people, plain within the national political party: the MESAN” (" Movement for the Social Evolution of the Black Africa "). This last episode to him been worth a megalomaniac reputation of , Bokassa justified its actions by declaring that the creation of a monarchy would help Central Africa to be distinguished from the other African countries and to gain the respect of the other countries of the world. He claimed to set up a Constitutional monarchy, but its mode remained a violent dictatorship.

In 1979, Jean-Bedel Bokassa did not enjoy any more its last popularity. In January, it repressed in the blood of the demonstrations of high-school pupils. Amnesty International and a commission of international lawyers established that it took part in the massacre in the prison of Bangui of 100 children who had been stopped to have protested against the too high cost of the school uniforms imposed by the emperor; Bokassa always savagely denied its implication in this massacre. Rumors claimed that Bokassa was devoted to the Cannibalisme on the occasion, which was worth to him the nickname of “the ogre of Berengo”, but these charges were rejected at the time of its lawsuit.

The fall

In the night of September 20th, 1979, whereas Bokassa Ier was in Libya in the optics of a bringing together with the Colonel Khadafi, the Service of external documentation and against-espionage SDECE (future DGSE) launched the Opération Barracuda. An infiltrated commando of the Service Action accommodates the Transall 1 {{er}} RPIMa ordered by the Colonel Briançon-Red with the airport of Bangui Mpoko. After having neutralized the airport, reinforcements land and the chief of the Special forces contacts Colonel Degenne based with the capital of the Chad so that it sends his " barracudas" , code name for eight helicopters Puma and air transports Transall. The catch of Bangui could begin. The following day in the neighborhoods of midnight and half, the vice-president David Dacko announced officially the fall of the Central African Empire and proclaimed the Republic. The October 10th 1979, the French satiric weekly the Duck connected revealed the Affaire of diamonds, which contributed to the defeat of Valery Giscard d'Estaing at the time of the presidential election of 1981. Bokassa will reconsider this business in a book, censured in France before its publication, in the middle of the Eighties during its French exile. Deposed emperor, Bokassa took refuge with Abidjan, in Ivory Coast, during four years, then in France (with Hardricourt in the Yvelines) because of his past in the Foreign legion, for finally turning over to Bangui in October 1986, although it had been condemned there to death in absentia. He was stopped and judged for Trahison, Meurtre, Cannibalisme and embezzlement.

The June 12th 1987, at the end of its second lawsuit, it was recognized not culprit of the loads of Cannibalisme but the capital punishment was confirmed for the other loads. Its sorrow was initially commuted to life imprisonment in February 1988, then in 10 years of reclusion. It was amnestied like all condemned, by André Kolingba in 1993 as a last presidential act and died in 1996 of an cardiac arrest. It was buried in its old Palais of Berengo.

It had 17 recognized women and 36 children.

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