List of heads of government of the Central African Republic

Prime Minister of the Central African Republic
Premier Ministre de la République Centrafricaine (French)
Coat of arms of the Central African Republic
Incumbent Félix Moloua since 7 February 2022
Member of	Council of Ministers
Seat	Bangui
Appointer	President of the Central African Republic
Term length	at the pleasure of the president
Formation	13 August 1960;65 years ago (1960-08-13)
First holder	David Dacko

There have been twenty-five heads of government of the Central African Republic and the Central African Empire. The office of prime minister, the head of government, was created when the Central African Republic became an autonomous territory of France in December 1958. It was originally the highest post of the Central African Republic, though France did maintain a governor in the territory. After the Central African Republic declared its independence on 13 August 1960, David Dacko held both the prime minister and newly created president of the Central African Republic posts briefly before eliminating the prime minister position and placing all executive power in the office of the President.

President Jean-Bédel Bokassa restored the office of prime minister to assist him in governing the country in 1975, shortly before he declared himself emperor. He selected as prime minister Elisabeth Domitien, who become Africa's first female head of government. After Domitien was removed from office, Bokassa named Ange-Félix Patassé to become his next prime minister. Patassé continued serving as prime minister after Bokassa declared the establishment of the Central African Empire in December 1976. Henri Maïdou succeeded Patassé and continued serving as prime minister after Bokassa was overthrown from power. During the following two years of Dacko's presidency, three more politicians served as prime minister. The post was abolished when Dacko was overthrown from the presidency by Andre Kolingba on 1 September 1981. The position, as it exists today, was recreated in 1991, when President Kolingba was forced to relinquish some of the executive power. The president has the authority to name the prime minister and can remove them from office at any time. The prime minister is the head of the government; within days of being appointed, they must select individuals for their Cabinet, who they will work with to coordinate the government.

The current prime minister of the Central African Republic is Félix Moloua, since 7 February 2022. ^[1]

List of officeholders

Political parties

   Movement for the Social Evolution of Black Africa (MESAN)

   Central African Democratic Union (UDC)

   Central African Democratic Rally (RDC)

   Civic Forum (FC)

   Social Democratic Party (PSD)

   Movement for the Liberation of the Central African People (MLPC)

   National Unity Party (PUN)

   Patriotic Front for Progress (FPP)

   United Hearts Movement (MCU)

Other affiliations

   Independent

No.	Portrait	Name (born–died)	Term of office			Political party		Government	Ref.
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
Central African Republic (1958–1960; autonomous within the French Community )
1		Barthélemy Boganda (1910–1959)	8 December 1958 [A]	29 March 1959 [B]	111 days		MESAN	—
—		Abel Goumba (1926–2009) acting	30 March 1959	30 April 1959	31 days		MESAN	—	[2]
2		David Dacko (1930–2003)	1 May 1959	13 August 1960	1 year, 104 days		MESAN	—	[2]
Central African Republic (1960–1976; independent)
1		David Dacko (1930–2003)	13 August 1960	14 August 1960 [C]	1 day		MESAN	—	[2]
Post abolished (14 August 1960 – 1 January 1975)
2		Elisabeth Domitien (1925–2005)	2 January 1975 [D]	7 April 1976 [E]	1 year, 96 days		MESAN	—	[3] [4]
Vacant (8 April 1976 – 4 September 1976)
3		Ange-Félix Patassé (1937–2011)	5 September 1976	3 December 1976 [F]	89 days		MESAN	—	[4] [5]
Central African Empire (1976–1979)
1		Ange-Félix Patassé (1937–2011)	8 December 1976	14 July 1978	1 year, 218 days		MESAN	—	[6]
2		Henri Maïdou (born 1936)	14 July 1978	21 September 1979	1 year, 69 days		MESAN	Maïdou  [ fr ]	[4] [6]
Central African Republic (1979–present)
4		Henri Maïdou (born 1936)	21 September 1979	26 September 1979 [G]	5 days		MESAN	Maïdou  [ fr ]
5		Bernard Ayandho (1930–1993)	26 September 1979	22 August 1980 [H]	331 days		MESAN	—	[7]
							UDC [I]
Vacant (23 August 1980 – 11 November 1980)
6		Jean-Pierre Lebouder (born 1944)	12 November 1980	4 April 1981	143 days		UDC	—	[7] [8]
7		Simon Narcisse Bozanga (1942–2010)	4 April 1981	1 September 1981	150 days		UDC	—	[7]
Post abolished (2 September 1981 – 14 March 1991)
8		Édouard Frank (born 1934)	15 March 1991	4 December 1992	1 year, 264 days		RDC	—	[7] [9]
9		Timothée Malendoma (1935–2010)	4 December 1992	26 February 1993 [J]	84 days		FC	—
10		Enoch Derant Lakoué (born 1945)	26 February 1993	25 October 1993	241 days		PSD	—
11		Jean-Luc Mandaba (1943–2000)	25 October 1993	12 April 1995 [K]	1 year, 169 days		MLPC	—	[10]
12		Gabriel Koyambounou (born 1947)	12 April 1995	6 June 1996	1 year, 55 days		MLPC	—	[11]
13		Jean-Paul Ngoupandé (1948–2014)	6 June 1996	30 January 1997	238 days		PUN	—	[9]
14		Michel Gbezera-Bria (born 1946)	30 January 1997 [L]	4 January 1999	1 year, 339 days		Independent	Gbezera-Bria  [ fr ]
15		Anicet-Georges Dologuélé (born 1957)	4 January 1999	1 April 2001 [M]	2 years, 87 days		Independent	Dologuélé I  [ fr ]	[12]
								Dologuélé II  [ fr ]
								Dologuélé III  [ fr ]
16		Martin Ziguélé (born 1957)	1 April 2001	15 March 2003 [N]	1 year, 348 days		MLPC	Ziguélé I  [ fr ]
								Ziguélé II  [ fr ]
								Ziguélé III  [ fr ]
17		Abel Goumba (1926–2009)	23 March 2003	11 December 2003 [O]	263 days		FPP	Goumba  [ fr ]	[13]
18		Célestin Gaombalet (1942–2017)	12 December 2003	11 June 2005 [P]	1 year, 181 days		Independent	Gaombalet I  [ fr ]
								Gaombalet II  [ fr ]
19		Élie Doté (born 1947)	13 June 2005	18 January 2008 [Q]	2 years, 219 days		Independent	Doté I  [ fr ]	[14]
								Doté II  [ fr ]
								Doté III  [ fr ]
20		Faustin-Archange Touadéra (born 1957)	22 January 2008	17 January 2013	4 years, 361 days		Independent	Touadéra I  [ fr ]	[15] [16]
								Touadéra II  [ fr ]
								Touadéra III  [ fr ]
21		Nicolas Tiangaye (born 1956)	17 January 2013	10 January 2014 [R]	358 days		Independent	Tiangaye I  [ fr ]	[17]
								Tiangaye II  [ fr ]
								Tiangaye III  [ fr ]
—		André Nzapayeké (born 1951) acting	25 January 2014	10 August 2014	197 days		Independent	Nzapayeké  [ fr ]	[18]
—		Mahamat Kamoun (born 1961) transitional	10 August 2014	2 April 2016	1 year, 236 days		Independent	Kamoun I  [ fr ]
								Kamoun II  [ fr ]
								Kamoun III  [ fr ]
								Kamoun IV  [ fr ]
22		Simplice Sarandji (born 1955)	2 April 2016	27 February 2019	2 years, 331 days		Independent	Sarandji I  [ fr ]
								Sarandji II  [ fr ]
23		Firmin Ngrébada (born 1968)	27 February 2019	15 June 2021	2 years, 108 days		Independent	Ngrébada
							MCU
24		Henri-Marie Dondra (born 1966)	15 June 2021	7 February 2022	237 days		Independent	Dondra  [ fr ]
25		Félix Moloua (born 1957)	7 February 2022	Incumbent	3 years, 340 days		MCU	Moloua  [ fr ]

Footnotes

• ^A Goumba had served as President of the Government Council since 26 July 1958. ^[2] When the Central African Republic became a territorial autonomy, he served as the acting leader the government from 1 December 1958 to 8 December 1958.
• ^B Boganda was killed in a mysterious plane crash on 29 March 1959, while en route to Bangui. ^[19] The exact cause of the crash was not determined, ^[20] but sabotage was widely suspected. ^[21] Experts found a trace of explosives in the plane's wreckage, but revelation of this detail was withheld. Although those responsible for the crash were never identified, people have suspected the French secret service, and even Boganda's wife, of being involved.
• ^C Dacko removed the prime minister position and consolidated power in the presidency.
• ^D President for Life Jean-Bédel Bokassa established a new government on 2 January 1975 and reintroduced the position of prime minister. He appointed Domitien as president of MESAN and Prime Minister of the Central African Republic. ^[22]
• ^E Domitien was removed from office because she publicly expressed her disapproval of Bokassa's plans to establish a monarchy in the Central African Republic. ^[23] Bokassa then had her placed under house arrest. ^[24]
• ^F On 4 December 1976, Bokassa instituted a new constitution and declared the republic a monarchy, the Central African Empire. ^[25]
• ^G President Dacko appointed Maïdou as vice president on 27 September 1979. ^[9]
• ^H Prime Minister Ayandho was dismissed from office on 22 August 1980 by Dacko, who saw him as a political threat, and placed under house arrest. ^[7]
• ^I Dacko created the Central African Democratic Union in February 1980 as the country's only political party. ^[26]
• ^J Malendoma was removed as prime minister and replaced by Lakoué. ^[27]
• ^K In April 1995, Mandaba resigned as prime minister, preempting a threatened vote of no-confidence from his own party, following accusations of incompetence and corruption. ^[28]
• ^L Gbezera-Bria was named prime minister on 30 January 1997 to replace Ngoupande, who had been accused of siding with disgruntled soldiers, who had sparked a mutiny on 15 November 1996 to demand higher wages. Ngoupande also didn't strongly support President Patassé's decision to call in French troops to suppress the soldier uprising. ^[29]
• ^M President Patassé fired Dologuélé on 1 April 2001 and replaced him with Ziguélé, a senior diplomat who had served as ambassador to Benin for the last two years. Patassé did not provide an explanation for his decision, but political observers state that the nonpartisan Dologuélé had become widely unpopular with the ruling MLPC party. ^[30]
• ^N Ziguélé left office when François Bozizé seized power on 15 March 2003.
• ^O On 11 December 2003, Goumba was dismissed as prime minister and was appointed as vice president. ^[31]
• ^P Gaombalet resigned as prime minister on 11 June 2005 after being elected as Speaker of the National Assembly on 7 June. ^[32]
• ^Q In mid-January 2008, members of the National Assembly filed a censure motion against the Doté government, in response to countrywide civil service strike initiated by trade unions to protest the government's failure to pay arrears to government employees. ^[33] On 18 January, Doté announced his resignation as prime minister. ^[34]
• ^R Tiangaye resigned with President Michel Djotodia in N'Djamena, Chad on 10 January 2014. ^[35]

Timeline

See also

• Politics of the Central African Republic
• History of the Central African Republic
• Emperor of Central Africa
• List of heads of state of the Central African Republic
• Vice President of the Central African Republic
• List of colonial governors of Ubangi-Shari

References

Specific

1. Agence France-Presse (8 February 2022). "CAR sacks premier amid rift over Russia-France tug of war". TRT World . Retrieved 8 February 2022.
2. Kalck 2005, p. 198.
3. Kalck 2005, p. 199.
4. Lentz 1994 , p. 153.
5. Kalck 2005, p. xxxiv.
6. Stewart 1989 , p. 58.
7. Lentz 1994 , p. 154.
8. Stewart 1989 , p. 59.
9. Kalck 2005, p. 200.
10. Kalck 2005, p. xlviii.
11. New Central African premier named, Agence France-Presse, 12 April 1995
12. "Central African Republic Prime Minister Forms New Government", Agence France-Presse (in French), 15 January 1999.
13. "Bozize appoints prime minister", IRIN , 24 March 2003, retrieved 18 June 2008.
14. Central Intelligence Agency (2007), The CIA World Factbook, New York: Skyhorse Publishing, p.  124, ISBN   978-1-60239-080-5, OCLC   181228013 .
15. "Centrafrique: le recteur de l'université de Bangui nommé Premier ministre", Agence France-Presse (in French), 22 January 2008, archived from the original on 21 May 2011.
16. "Prime minister booted from job in Central African Republic, part of peace deal with rebels". The Washington Post. 13 January 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2013.^{[ dead link ]}
17. Patrick Fort, "Tiangaye named Central African PM, says 'hard work' begins", Agence France-Presse, 17 January 2013.
18. "Central African Republic's PM, cabinet resign — state radio", Reuters Africa. 5 August 2014.
19. "African Leader Found Dead in Crashed Plane", The New York Times , p. 10, 1 April 1959.
20. Kalck 2005, p. 27.
21. Titley 1997, p. 16.
22. Titley 1997, p. 83.
23. Paxton, Pamela; Hughes, Melanie M. (2007), Women, Politics, and Power: A Global Perspective, Thousand Oaks, California: Pine Forge Press, p. 83, ISBN   978-1-4129-2742-0, OCLC   71348673
24. Uglow, Jennifer S.; Hinton, Frances (1982), The International Dictionary of Women's Biography, New York: Macmillan Publishers, p. 148, ISBN   0-8264-0192-9, OCLC   8410986 .
25. Kalck 2005, pp. xxxiv–xxxv.
26. Kalck 2005, p. xxxvii.
27. Kalck 2005, p. xlvii.
28. Murison 2003, p. 200.
29. Benamsse, Joseph (30 January 1997), "New prime minister named in Central African Republic", Associated Press .
30. Benamsse, Joseph (1 April 2001), "President of Central African Republic fires prime minister", Associated Press .
31. "New premier forms government, Goumba appointed VP", IRIN , 15 December 2003, retrieved 18 June 2008.
32. "Bozize inaugurated, prime minister appointed", IRIN , 13 June 2005, retrieved 18 June 2008.
33. Kreutzer, Tino (19 January 2008), "CAR government resigns amid wages crisis", AfricaNews, archived from the original on 28 September 2011, retrieved 18 June 2008.
34. "Maths professor becomes CAR PM", News24 , 22 January 2008, archived from the original on 16 November 2023, retrieved 18 June 2008.
35. "CAR interim President Michel Djotodia resigns". BBC News. 10 January 2014. Retrieved 10 January 2014.

General

• Appiah, K. Anthony; Gates, Henry Louis Jr., eds. (1999), Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience (1st ed.), New York: Basic Books, ISBN   0-465-00071-1, OCLC   41649745 .
• Clark, John F.; Gardinier, David E., eds. (1997), Political Reform in Francophone Africa , Boulder: Westview Press, ISBN   0-8133-2785-7, OCLC   35318507 .
• Kalck, Pierre (1971). Central African Republic: A Failure in Decolonization. London: Pall Mall. ISBN   0-269-02801-3.
• Kalck, Pierre (2005), Historical Dictionary of the Central African Republic (3rd English ed.), Lanham, Maryland: The Scarecrow Press, ISBN   0-8108-4913-5, OCLC   55487416 .
• Lentz, Harris M. (1994), Heads of States and Governments: A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Over 2,300 Leaders, 1945 through 1992 , Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, ISBN   0-89950-926-6, OCLC   30075961 .
• Marsden, Hilary, ed. (1987), Whitaker's Almanack, 1988, London: J Whitaker and Sons, ISBN   0-85021-178-6, OCLC   17305204 .
• Murison, Katharine, ed. (2003), Africa South of the Sahara 2004 (33rd ed.), London: Europa Publications, ISBN   1-85743-183-9, OCLC   52621809 .
• Stewart, John (1989), African States and Rulers: An Encyclopedia of Native, Colonial and Independent States and Rulers Past and Present , Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, ISBN   0-89950-390-X, OCLC   18781224 .
• Titley, Brian (1997), Dark Age: The Political Odyssey of Emperor Bokassa, Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, ISBN   0-7735-1602-6, OCLC   36340842 .
• Mehler, Andreas (2005), Villalón, Leonardo A.; VonDoepp, Peter (eds.), The Fate of Africa's Democratic Experiments: Elites and Institutions , Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press, ISBN   0-253-34575-8, OCLC   57414663 .

External links

• Elections in the Central African Republic
• BBC News Timeline: Central African Republic