This article lists the presidents of the Central African Republic from those sworn into office as president and those who acted as de facto head of states.
There have been seven heads of state of the Central African Republic and the Central African Empire since independence was obtained from the French on 13 August 1960. This list includes not only those persons who were sworn into office as President of the Central African Republic but also those who served as de facto heads of state.
Read: POLITICAL HISTORY OF THE CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
Jean-Bédel Bokassa served as a de facto head of state (and also reigned as Emperor from 1976 to 1979), while David Dacko (who served as de facto head of state from 1979 to 1981), André Kolingba, Ange-Félix Patassé, and François Bozizé were elected into office at some point during their tenure. To date, Kolingba is the only former head of state of the Central African Republic to voluntarily step down from the office through a democratic process, following the 1993 general election.
The current President of the Central African Republic is Faustin-Archange Touadéra, since 30 March 2016.
TERM LIMITS
As of 2021, there is a two-term limit for the president in the Constitution of the Central African Republic. The term limit has not been met by any president yet.
HEAD OF STATES
| Name (Birth–Death) |
Elected | Term of office | Political affiliations | Notes | ||||
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||||
| David Dacko (1927–2003) President of the Provisional Government |
— | 14 August 1960 | 12 December 1960 | 5 years, 140 days | MESAN | Dacko served as president of the government from 1 May 1959 until the country declared its independence on 13 August 1960. | ||
| David Dacko (1927–2003) President |
1964 | 12 December 1960 | 1 January 1966 | |||||
| Jean-Bédel Bokassa (1921–1996) President |
— | 1 January 1966 | 4 December 1976 | 10 years, 338 days | Military | Bokassa seized power from Dacko in a successful coup d’état. He changed his name to Salah Eddine Ahmed Bokassa after converting to Islam on 20 October 1976. | ||
| MESAN | ||||||||
| Bokassa I (1921–1996) Emperor |
— | 4 December 1976 | 21 September 1979 | 2 years, 291 days | MESAN | Bokassa spent approximately US$20 million—one third of the country’s annual budget—on his coronation ceremony on 4 December 1977. | ||
| David Dacko (1927–2003) President |
1981 | 21 September 1979 | 1 September 1981 | 1 year, 345 days | MESAN | This was Dacko’s second time as president of the Central African Republic. In February 1980, Dacko established the Central African Democratic Union (UDC) as the country’s only political party. | ||
| UDC | ||||||||
| André Kolingba (1935–2010) Chairman of the Military Committee of National Recovery |
— | 1 September 1981 | 21 September 1985 | 12 years, 51 days | Military | Kolingba seized power from Dacko in a successful coup d’état. Ange-Félix Patassé, with the assistance of François Bozizé, launched an unsuccessful coup d’état against the Kolingba government on 3 March 1982. | ||
| André Kolingba (1935–2010) President and Head of State |
21 September 1985 | 21 November 1986 | Kolingba established the Central African Democratic Rally (RDC) as the country’s only party in May 1986. | |||||
| RDC | ||||||||
| André Kolingba (1935–2010) President |
1986 | 21 November 1986 | 22 October 1993 | |||||
| Ange-Félix Patassé (1937–2011) President |
1993 1999 |
22 October 1993 | 15 March 2003 | 9 years, 144 days | MLPC | Bozizé launched an unsuccessful coup d’état against the Patassé government on 28 May 2001. | ||
| François Bozizé (born 1943) President |
2005 2011 |
15 March 2003 | 24 March 2013 | 10 years, 9 days | Military | Bozizé seized power from Patassé in a successful coup d’état. Shortly after, he appointed Abel Goumba as Prime Minister. Goumba had served as acting Prime Minister in 1959, before being overthrown by Dacko.[18] | ||
| Independent | ||||||||
| Michel Djotodia (born 1949) President |
— | 24 March 2013 | 18 August 2013 | 292 days | Military | Djotodia was the leader of the Séléka rebel coalition in the ongoing civil war. | ||
| Michel Djotodia (born 1949) Head of State of the Transition |
18 August 2013 | 10 January 2014 | ||||||
| Alexandre-Ferdinand Nguendet (born 1972) Acting Head of State of the Transition |
— | 10 January 2014 | 23 January 2014 | 13 days | RPR | Nguendet succeeded Djotodia after his resignation due to the continued conflict. | ||
| Catherine Samba-Panza (born 1954) Head of State of the Transition |
— | 23 January 2014 | 30 March 2016 | 2 years, 67 days | Independent | Samba-Panza became the first female head of state of the Central African Republic. | ||
| Faustin-Archange Touadéra (born 1957) President |
2015–16 2020–21 |
30 March 2016 | Incumbent | 7 years, 112 days | Independent | Previously, Touadéra served as Prime Minister under Bozizé from 2008 until 2013. | ||