Jean-Bédel Bokassa

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Bokassa I
Emperor of Central Africa
Reign	December 4, 1976 - September 20, 1979
Coronation	December 4, 1977
Born	22 February 1921(1921-02-22)
Died	3 November 1996 (aged 75)
Predecessor	New Empire
Successor	Empire abolished
Consort	Empress Catherine
Issue	Crown Prince Jean-Bédel
Royal House	Bokassa

Bokassa I of Central Africa (February 22, 1921–November 3, 1996), also known as Jean-Bédel Bokassa (IPA: [ʒɑ̃ bedɛl bɔkasa]) and Salah Eddine Ahmed Bokassa, was the military ruler of the Central African Republic from January 1, 1966 and the Emperor of the Central African Empire from December 4, 1976, until his overthrow on September 20, 1979.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Army 3 Coup d'état 4 Foreign support 5 Proclamation of the Empire 6 Overthrow 6.1 Repression 6.2 Operation Barracuda 6.3 Fall of the empire 7 Trial 8 Notes 9 Media links 10 Sources and external links

[edit] Early life

Bokassa was born in Bobangi, a village in Moyen-Congo, in the present Central African Republic (then a French colony called French Equatorial Africa). His father, Mgboundoulou, was a village chief, belonged to the M'Baka people -- a small ethnic group inhabiting the forest south of Bangui, distinguished for contributing an inordinate number of the country's civil servants.^{[citation needed]} In 1927, Mgboundoulou was arrested for his role in a tribal dispute and promptly judged and executed by the French.^[1] A week after his death, Mgboundoulou's wife committed suicide from grief, leaving behind twelve children.^[2]

[edit] Army

One of the orphans was Jean-Bedel, who was called "Bokassa" (meaning 'little forest' in M'Baka). He was educated by Catholic missionaries in Bangui and Brazzaville with the intention of becoming a priest, but in 1939 changed his plans and instead joined the Free French Forces. After the occupation of France by Nazi Germany, he served in the Forces' African unit and took part in the capture of the Vichy government's capital at Brazzaville, and ended World War II as a sergeant major. He remained in the Army after the war and served in Indochina and took part in the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, getting promoted to second lieutenant in 1956.^[2] For his exploits in battle, he was honored with a membership in the Legion d'Honneur, and was decorated with Croix de Guerre. By 1961 he had risen to the rank of captain. He left the French army in 1964 to join the army of the Central African Republic. As a cousin of the President David Dacko and nephew of Dacko's predecessor Barthélémy Boganda, Bokassa was given the task of creating the new country's military. He rose to the rank of colonel and chief of staff of the armed forces, becoming commander in chief of the army in 1963.^[2]

[edit] Coup d'état

On December 31, 1965, Bokassa led a coup to overthrow Dacko, who was planning to cut the military budget because of the country's economic difficulties. The next day, January 1, 1966, Bokassa proclaimed himself president, prime minister, and head of the country's sole political party, the Mouvement pour l'Evolution Sociale de l'Afrique Noire or MESAN, which translates as the "Movement for the Social Evolution of Black Africa". Three days later, he abolished the existing constitution and began to rule by decree. He instituted a plan to improve and modernize agriculture in the country, but became increasingly despotic in his attempts to retain power. ^[2]

He worked to create a cult of personality for himself, and had his portraits prominently displayed throughout the country. At the same time, he purged and imprisoned his political opponents, outlawed strikes, and imposed strict government censorship rules. ^[2]

In April 1969, he executed his closest aide and his paratroop commander, Lt. Col. Alexandre Banda, on suspicion of his involvement in a coup attempt. Bokassa used this as the impetus for consolidating his power even further. In 1971, he promoted himself to full general, and in March 1972 declared himself president for life. He survived another coup attempt in December 1974. The following month, on January 2, he relinqueshed the position of prime minister to Elizabeth Domitien. His domestic and foreign policies became increasingly unpredictable, leading to another assassination attempt at Bangui M'Poko International Airport in February 1976.^[2]

[edit] Foreign support

Because of the Central African soil's mineral resources (including uranium and diamonds), some countries like France, Switzerland and the United States supported Bokassa and dealt with him. In 1975, the French president Valéry Giscard d'Estaing declared himself a "friend and family member" of Bokassa. By that time France supplied its former colony's regime with financial and military backing. In exchange, Bokassa frequently took d'Estaing on hunting trips in Africa and supplied France with uranium, a mineral which was vital for France's nuclear energy and weapons program in the Cold War era.

The "friendly and fraternal" cooperation with France -according to Bokassa's own terms- reached its peak with the imperial coronation ceremony of Bokassa I on December 4, 1977. The French Defense Minister sent a battalion to secure the ceremony; he also lent 17 aircraft to the Central African Empire's government, and even assigned French Navy personnel to support the orchestra.^[3]

On October 10, 1979, the Canard Enchaîné satiric newspaper reported - in what soon became a major political scandal known as the diamonds affair - that President Bokassa had offered the then Minister of Finance Valéry Giscard d'Estaing two diamonds in 1973. The practice of giving diamonds as a gift to the president's acquaintances was common, and notable recipients included the United States Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.^{[citation needed]}

The Franco-Central African relationship drastically changed when the French intelligence service Renseignements Généraux learned about Bokassa's willingness to become a partner of Qadhafi. In early December 1979, the French council officially stopped all support to Bokassa.

After a meeting with Moammar al-Qadhafi of Libya, Bokassa decided to convert to Islam and changed his name to Salah Eddine Ahmed Bokassa. It is presumed that this was a ploy calculated to ensure ongoing Libyan financial aid. When no funds promised by Qadhafi were forthcoming, Bokassa abandoned his new faith. It also was incompatible with his plans to be crowned emperor in the Catholic cathedral in Bangui.

[edit] Proclamation of the Empire

In September 1976, Bokassa dissolved the government and replaced it with the Conseil de la Révolution Centrafricaine 'Central African Revolutionary Council'. On December 4, 1976, at the MESAN congress, Bokassa he instituted a new constitution and declared the republic a monarchy, the Central African Empire. He issued an imperial constitution, announced his conversion back to Catholicism and had himself crowned "S.M.I. Bokassa Ier", with S.M.I. standing for Sa Majesté Impériale: "His Imperial Majesty", on December 4, 1977. Bokassa's full title was Empereur de Centrafrique par la volonté du peuple Centrafricain, uni au sein du parti politique national, le MESAN ("Emperor of Central Africa by the will of the Centrafrican people, united within the national political party, the MESAN"). Both his lavish coronation ceremony and his regime were largely inspired by Napoleon I, who had converted the French Revolutionary Republic of which he was First Consul into the First French Empire. The coronation ceremony was estimated to cost his country roughly 20 million dollars USD. ^[2]

Bokassa attempted to justify his actions by claiming that creating a monarchy would help Central Africa "stand out" from the rest of the continent, and earn the world's respect. Over $20 million was spent on the coronation (consuming one third of the C.A.R.'s annual budget and all of France's aid that year), but despite generous invitations, no foreign leaders attended the event. Many thought Bokassa was insane, and compared his egotistical extravagance with that of Africa's other well-known eccentric dictator, Idi Amin. Tenacious rumors that he occasionally consumed human flesh were found unproven during his trial.

Though it was claimed that the new Empire would be a constitutional monarchy, no significant democratic reforms were made, and suppression of dissenters remained widespread. Torture was said to be especially rampant, with allegations that even Bokassa himself occasionally participated in beatings.

[edit] Overthrow

[edit] Repression

By January 1979, French support for Bokassa had all but eroded after riots in Bangui led to a massacre of civilians^[4]. Between April 17 and April 19 a number of schoolchildren were arrested after they had protested against wearing the expensive, government-required school uniforms. Around 100 were killed.

The severe international criticism which followed upon the massacre of the students enabled former President Dacko to gain French support and led a successful coup using French troops while Bokassa was absent in Libya on September 20, 1979.

[edit] Operation Barracuda

Bokassa's overthrow by the French government was called "France's last colonial expedition" ("la dernière expédition coloniale française") by veteran French diplomat Jacques Foccart. Operation Barracuda began the night of September 20th and ended early the next morning. An undercover commando squad from the French intelligence agency SDECE (now DGSE), joined by Special Forces' 1st Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment, or 1er RPIMa, led by Colonel Brancion-Rouge, landed by Transall and managed to secure the Bangui Mpoko airport. Upon arrival of two more transport aircraft, a message was sent to Colonel Degenne to come in with his Barracudas (codename for eight Puma helicopters and Transall aircraft), which took off from N'Djamena military airport in neighbouring Chad.^[5]

[edit] Fall of the empire

On September 21, by 12:30 PM, the pro-French Dacko proclaimed the fall of the Centrafrican Empire. David Dacko remained president until he was overthrown on September 20, 1981 by André Kolingba.

Bokassa fled to Ivory Coast where he spent four years living in Abidjan. He then moved to France where he was allowed to settle in his house at Haudricourt, west of Paris. France gave him political asylum because of the French Foreign Legion obligations.^[2]

[edit] Trial

Bokassa had been sentenced to death in absentia in December 1980 but he returned from exile in France on October 24, 1986. He was arrested and tried for treason, murder, cannibalism and embezzlement. Following an emotional trial over some months he was cleared of the cannibalism charges but was convicted of the remaining charges and sentenced to death on June 12, 1987.^[2] His sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in February 1988 by then-President Andre Kolingba and then reduced further to twenty years. With the return of democracy in 1993, Kolingba declared a general amnesty for all prisoners as one of his final acts as president, and Bokassa was released on August 1. He had 17 wives and a reported 50 children.

At the end of his life he proclaimed himself the 13th Apostle and claimed to have secret meetings with the Pope. He died of a heart attack on November 3, 1996 in Bangui, the capital. He was 75.

Styles of Bokassa I of Central Africa
Reference style	His Imperial Majesty
Spoken style	Your Imperial Majesty
Alternative style	Sir

[edit] Notes

[edit] Media links

• Jean-Bedel Bokassa video interview while exiled at Abidjan in 1983 (French)
• Various documentaries about Bokassa (French)

[edit] Sources and external links

• Imperial stamp example
• Imperial currency example
• Imperial flag
• WorldStatesme- CAR
• The Big Man (Info on Bokassa and other African Rulers)
• Werner Herzog's documentary film on Bokassa
• Amusing story about Emperor Bokassa's "crown jewel"
• Jean-Barthelemy Bokassa's blog (about his first book "Diamonds of treason" dealing with Jean-Bedel and Martine bokassa

Jean-Bédel Bokassa House of Bokassa Born: February 22 1921 Died: November 3 1996
Political offices
Preceded by David Dacko	President of Central African Republic January 1, 1966 – December 4, 1976	became Emperor
		Vacant Title next held by David Dacko
Regnal titles
New title Empire declared	Emperor of the Central African Empire December 4, 1976 – September 20, 1979	Monarchy abolished Republic restored
Titles in pretence
New title	— TITULAR — Emperor of the Central African Empire September 20, 1979 – November 3, 1996	Succeeded by Crown Prince Jean-Bédel

v • d • e  Presidents of the Central African Republic
Dacko | Bokassa | Dacko | Kolingba | Patassé | Bozizé Emperor: Bokassa (1976–1979)