Jean-Bedel Bokassa

Jean-Bédel Bokassa , 1921-96, president of Central African Republic (1966-79). He served (1939-61) in the French army, then organized his country's army, becoming commander in chief in 1963. In 1966 he led an army coup against President David Dacko , becoming president and prime minister of the republic. Declared president for life in 1972, he crowned himself "emperor" of the so-called Central African Empire in 1977. Erratic and violent, he was overthrown by a French-supported coup (1979) that reinstated Dacko as president. Bokassa lived in exile in France and Côte d'Ivoire, returning to the Central African Republic in 1987. He was arrested and charged with torture, murder, and cannibalism. Convicted of murdering several political opponents, Bokassa was sentenced to death, but that was later commuted to life in prison. He was released in 1993.

Bokassa, Jean-Bédel (1921–96) President of the Central African Republic (1966–76); emperor of the Central African Empire (1976–79). After a distinguished career in the French Army, Bokassa became commander-in-chief of the forces of his newly independent country in 1964 and seized power in a coup two years later. Bokassa's rule became increasingly arbitrary and authoritarian and he was implicated in the massacre of civilians. He proclaimed himself President for life in 1972 and was named Emperor in a lavish investiture ceremony in 1976. In one of the poorest countries of Africa, he spent huge sums on maintaining a luxurious lifestyle modelled on that of Napoleon I. He was deposed, with French support, in 1979. After spending seven years in exile, Bokassa was condemned to death on his return, but this sentence was commuted to one of life imprisonment. He was given amnesty and freed in 1993.

Bokassa, Jean Bédel (b. 22 Feb. 1921, d. 5 Nov. 1996). President of the Central African Republic 1966–79 Born in Bobangui, he joined the French army in 1939, advancing to the rank of captain by 1961. He became Chief of Staff in the newly created Central African Army in 1964, and on 1 January 1966 assumed the presidency after a successful coup. He established a ruthless dictatorship, channelling up to a third of the annual state budget into his private fortune. He proclaimed himself emperor in 1976, and crowned himself in a lavish ceremony in 1977. French support for his idiosyncratic rule stopped in 1979, on account of his friendly relations with Gaddafi, and worldwide disgust at his personal involvement in the brutal murder of 100 schoolchildren. He was deposed in a coup carried out by the French military, but escaped abroad. Sentenced to death twice, he was pardoned upon his return to the Central African Republic in 1988, when his sentence was commuted to lifelong imprisonment with hard labour.