This post discusses the past presidents of Cameroon starting from the federal republic down to the United republic and the republic of Cameroon.
The 1972 constitution of the Republic of Cameroon as modified by 1996 reforms provides for a strong central government dominated by the executive. The president is empowered to name and dismiss cabinet members (regardless of parliamentary representation), judges, generals, provincial governors, prefects, sub-prefects, and heads of Cameroon’s parastatal(about 100 state-controlled) firms, obligate or disburse expenditures, approve or veto regulations, declare states of emergency, and appropriate and spend profits of parastatal firms. The president is not required to consult the National Assembly. In 2008, a constitutional amendment was passed that eliminated term limits for president
Under the current Constitution of Cameroon, the Prime Minister of Cameroon is a relatively powerless position. While the Prime Minister is officially appointed to be the head of government, the President retains most of the executive power and can fire the Prime Minister at will.
The current prime minister, Joseph Ngute, was appointed by president Paul Biya. He took the office on 4 January 2019.
A total of two people have served as President of Cameroon. The current President of Cameroon is Paul Biya, since 6 November 1982.
This is a list of presidents of Cameroon since the country gained independence from France in 1960 to the present day:
| No. | Name (Birth–Death) |
Elected | Term of office | Political party | Prime minister | |||||
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||||||
| Republic of Cameroun | ||||||||||
| 1 | Ahmadou Ahidjo (1924–1989) |
— | 5 May 1960 | 1 October 1961 | 1 year, 149 days | UC | Assalé | |||
| Federal Republic of Cameroon | ||||||||||
| (1) | Ahmadou Ahidjo (1924–1989) |
— | 1 October 1961 | 2 June 1972 | 10 years, 245 days | UC (until 1966) |
East Cameroon | |||
| 1965 | Assalé Ahanda Tchoungui |
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| (1) | UNC | West Cameroon | ||||||||
| 1970 | Foncha Jua Muna |
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| United Republic of Cameroon | ||||||||||
| (1) | Ahmadou Ahidjo (1924–1989) |
— | 2 June 1972 | 6 November 1982 (resigned) |
10 years, 157 days | UNC | Biya | |||
| 1975 | ||||||||||
| 1980 | ||||||||||
| 2 | Paul Biya (born 1933) |
— | 6 November 1982 | 4 February 1984 | 1 year, 90 days | UNC | Maigari Ayang |
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| Republic of Cameroon | ||||||||||
| (2) | Paul Biya (born 1933) |
1984 | 4 February 1984 | Incumbent | 39 years, 115 days | UNC (until 1985 renamed to CPDM) |
Hayatou Achu Musonge Inoni Yang Ngute |
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| (2) | CPDM | |||||||||
| 1988 | ||||||||||
| 1992 | ||||||||||
| 1997 | ||||||||||
| 2004 | ||||||||||
| 2011 | ||||||||||
| 2018 | ||||||||||