François Bozizé

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Lore & Background

Bozizé was born in present-day Gabon, a member of the Gbaya people, and attended a military officers' training college in Bouar. He became a second lieutenant in 1969 and a captain in 1975. He was appointed Brigadier General by Emperor Bokassa I in 1978 after he beat a French noncommissioned officer who had been disrespectful to the Emperor. With General Josyhat Mayomokala, Bozizé ordered military personnel to attack young demonstrators asking for their parents' arrears. After Bokassa was ousted by David Dacko in 1979, Bozizé was appointed Minister of Defense after Operation Barracuda. Following Dacko's ouster by André Kolingba in September 1981, Bozizé was appointed Minister of Information, but fled to the north 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 obtained refuge in France, and during much of the 1980s lived in Benin, where he became a devout follower of the Celestial Church of Christ. Bozizé was arrested in Cotonou in July 1989, 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 for nearly two years. In the 1993 election, Bozizé ran for the presidency as an independent, receiving 12,159 votes, 1.5% of the total.

Reader's Guide

Bozizé's significance lies in his role as a military leader who twice overthrew or attempted to overthrow Central African governments. After serving as Army Chief of Staff under President Ange-Félix Patassé and helping him suppress army mutinies in 1996 and 1997, he was dismissed on 28 May 2001 after a coup attempt against Patassé. Fighting erupted when the government tried to arrest Bozizé on 3 November; after five days, government forces aided by Libyan troops captured his barracks, and Bozizé fled north to Chad. On 15 March 2003, his forces entered Bangui unopposed while Patassé was returning from a meeting in Niger and could not land. Bozizé suspended the 1995 constitution, and a new constitution was approved by voters in a referendum on 5 December 2004. He placed first in the 13 March 2005 election with just under 43% of the vote, then won the second round on 8 May with 64.6% of the vote, sworn in on 11 June. He was re-elected in the January 2011 presidential election, winning in the first round. In December 2012, the CAR was plunged into an uprising by rebel forces condemning Bozizé for not honoring peace agreements after the Central African Bush War in 2007. On 24 March 2013, Bozizé fled to Cameroon via the Democratic Republic of the Congo after rebel forces attacked Bangui and took control of the presidential palace. There, he was housed by Paul Biya, president of Cameroon. On 29 May 2013, an international arrest warrant was issued against Bozizé by the Central African Republic.

Did You Know?

• Bozizé is the only Central African president born in modern-day Gabon.
• He was appointed Brigadier General by Emperor Bokassa I in 1978 after beating a French noncommissioned officer who had disrespected the Emperor.
• In the 1993 presidential election, Bozizé ran as an independent and received only 12,159 votes, 1.5% of the total.
• After his 1982 coup attempt, Bozizé fled to France and later lived in Benin, where he became a devout follower of the Celestial Church of Christ.
• On 29 May 2013, an international arrest warrant was issued against Bozizé by the Central African Republic.

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