There have been eight heads of state of the Central African Republic and the Central African Empire since independence from France on 13 August 1960. This list includes not only those persons who were sworn into office as President of the Central African Republic but also those who served as de facto heads of state.

Jean-Bédel Bokassa served as a de facto head of state (and also reigned as emperor from 1976 to 1979), while David Dacko (who served as de facto head of state from 1979 to 1981), André Kolingba, Ange-Félix Patassé, and François Bozizé were elected into office at some point during their tenure. To date, Kolingba is the only former head of state of the Central African Republic to voluntarily step down from the office through a democratic process, following the 1993 general election.

The current president of the Central African Republic is Faustin-Archange Touadéra, since 30 March 2016."Central African Republic's president vows peace, reforms at inauguration", Reuters, 30 March 2016. The president is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

Succession Before the adoption of the 2023 constitution, the president of the National Assembly was the constitutional successor of the president in the event of a vacancy.

Term Before the adoption of the 2023 constitution, there was a two-term limit for the president in the Constitution of the Central African Republic. The term limit was not met by any president. The constitution of 2023 removed term-limits and extended the presidential term from five years to seven years.

List of officeholders Political parties

Other affiliations

PortraitNameElectedTerm of officePolitical affiliationNotesTook officeLeft officeTime in officeCentral African Republic (1960–1976) — David Dacko — 14 August 1960 12 December 1960MESANDacko served as president of the government from 1 May 1959 until the country declared its independence on 13 August 1960. 1 David Dacko 1964 12 December 1960 1 January 19662Jean-Bédel Bokassa—1 January 19664 December 1976 MilitaryBokassa seized power from Dacko in a successful coup d'état. He changed his name to Salah Eddine Ahmed Bokassa after converting to Islam on 20 October 1976. MESANCentral African Empire (1976–1979) 1 Bokassa I — 4 December 1976 21 September 1979 MESAN Bokassa spent approximately US$20 million—one third of the country's annual budget—on his coronation ceremony on 4 December 1977.Central African Republic (1979–present)3David Dacko198121 September 19791 September 1981 MESANThis was Dacko's second time as president of the Central African Republic. In February 1980, Dacko established the Central African Democratic Union (UDC) as the country's only political party. UDC — André Kolingba— 1 September 1981 21 September 1985Military Kolingba seized power from Dacko in a successful coup d'état. Ange-Félix Patassé, with the assistance of François Bozizé, launched an unsuccessful coup d'état against the Kolingba government on 3 March 1982.—André Kolingba21 September 198521 November 1986Kolingba established the Central African Democratic Rally (RDC) as the country's only party in May 1986.RDC 4 André Kolingba 1986 21 November 1986 22 October 1993 5 Ange-Félix Patassé 19931999 22 October 1993 15 March 2003 MLPC Bozizé launched an unsuccessful coup d'état against the Patassé government on 28 May 2001.6François Bozizé2005201115 March 200324 March 2013 MilitaryBozizé seized power from Patassé in a successful coup d'état. Shortly after, he appointed Abel Goumba as prime minister. Goumba had served as acting prime minister in 1959, before being overthrown by Dacko. Independent 7 Michel Djotodia— 24 March 2013 18 August 2013MilitaryDjotodia was the leader of the Séléka rebel coalition in the ongoing civil war. — Michel Djotodia 18 August 2013 10 January 2014 — Alexandre-Ferdinand Nguendet — 10 January 2014 23 January 2014 RPR Nguendet succeeded Djotodia after his resignation due to the continued conflict. — Catherine Samba-Panza — 23 January 2014 30 March 2016 Independent Samba-Panza became the first female head of state of the Central African Republic.8Faustin-Archange Touadéra202530 March 2016Incumbent IndependentPreviously, Touadéra served as prime minister under Bozizé from 2008 until 2013. MCU

Footnotes Dacko became the official President of the Central African Republic after defeating Abel Goumba in an internal power struggle. Dacko had support from the French government. Bokassa seized power by staging a coup d'état from 31 December 1965 until 1 January 1966. Bokassa forced Dacko to officially resign from the presidency at 03:20 WAT (02:20 UTC) on 1 January. Bokassa staged a military coup against the Dacko government on 31 December 1965 – 1 January 1966. After becoming president, Bokassa took control of MESAN and imposed one-party rule under MESAN. Bokassa, then-president for life of the Central African Republic, instituted a new constitution at the session of the MESAN congress and declared the republic a monarchy, the Central African Empire (CAE). Bokassa became the emperor of the CAE as "Bokassa I". By 1979, French support for Bokassa had all but eroded after the government's brutal suppression of rioting in Bangui and massacre of schoolchildren who had protested against wearing the expensive, government-required school uniforms. Dacko, who was Bokassa's personal adviser at the time, managed to leave for Paris where the French convinced him to cooperate in a coup to remove Bokassa from power and restore him to the presidency. The French successfully executed Operation Caban on 20–21 September 1979 and installed Dacko as president. General Kolingba (who was also the armed forces chief of staff) overthrew Dacko from the presidency in a bloodless coup. On 21 September 1985, Kolingba dissolved the Military Committee for National Recovery, and created the positions of head of state and president. A constitution was adopted by a referendum on 21 November 1986 and Kolingba was elected to a six-year term in office. The country held a multiparty presidential election on 22 August and 19 September 1993. Patassé was the candidate from the Movement for the Liberation of the Central African People party and ran on the platform that he would pay the previously withheld salaries to soldiers and civil servants. Patassé defeated Dacko, Kolingba, Bozizé and Abel Goumba to win the election. Bozizé's second coup attempt was successful; he seized power in Bangui on 15 March 2003. Djotodia ousted Bozizé in the 2012–13 conflict; he seized power in Bangui on 24 March 2013. Under pressure from other central African heads of state gathered for a crisis summit on the situation in CAR, Djotodia resigned in N'Djamena, Chad on 10 January 2014.

Timeline

Latest election

See also History of the Central African Republic List of colonial governors of Ubangi-Shari Politics of the Central African Republic List of heads of government of the Central African Republic Vice President of the Central African Republic

References Specific

General . . . .

External links Official Website Elections in the Central African Republic BBC News Timeline: Central African Republic