List of heads of state of the Central African Republic
Heads of state

List of heads of state of the Central African Republic

Section Title: Heads of state
Table Section Text: None

Central African Republic

French: République centrafricaine Sango: Ködörösêse tî Bêafrîka

Head of state (Birth–Death) Title	Portrait	Entered office	Left office	Political affiliations	Notes

David Dacko (1930–2003) President of the Provisional Government	-	14 August 1960	12 December 1960	MESAN	Dacko served as president of the government from 1 May 1959 until the country declared its independence on 13 August 1960.

David Dacko (1930–2003) President	12 December 1960	1 January 1966

Jean-Bédel Bokassa (1921–1996) President	-	1 January 1966	4 December 1976	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

Central African Empire

French: Empire centrafricain

Bokassa I (1921–1996) Emperor	-	4 December 1976	21 September 1979	MESAN	Bokassa spent approximately US$20 million—one third of the country's annual budget—on his coronation ceremony on 4 December 1977.

Central African Republic

French: République centrafricaine Sango: Ködörösêse tî Bêafrîka

David Dacko (1930–2003) President	-	21 September 1979	1 September 1981	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 (1936–2010) Chairman of the Military Committee of National Recovery	-	1 September 1981	21 September 1985	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 (1936–2010) 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 (1936–2010) President	21 November 1986	22 October 1993

Ange-Félix Patassé (1937–2011) President	-	22 October 1993	15 March 2003	MLPC	Bozizé launched an unsuccessful coup d'état against the Patassé government on 28 May 2001.

François Bozizé (1946–) President	-	15 March 2003	24 March 2013	Military	Bozizé seized power from Patassé in a successful coup d'état. Shortly after, he appointed Abel Goumba as Prime Minister.

Independent

Michel Djotodia (1949–) President	-	24 March 2013	18 August 2013	Military	Djotodia was the leader of the Séléka rebel coalition in the ongoing civil war.

Michel Djotodia (1949–) Head of State of the Transition	18 August 2013	10 January 2014

Alexandre-Ferdinand Nguendet (1972–) Acting Head of State of the Transition	-	10 January 2014	23 January 2014	RPR	Nguendet succeeded Djotodia after his resignation due to the continued conflict.

Catherine Samba-Panza (1954–) Head of State of the Transition	-	23 January 2014	30 March 2016	Independent	Samba-Panza became the first female head of state of the Central African Republic.

Faustin-Archange Touadéra (1957–) President	-	30 March 2016	Incumbent	Independent	Previously, Touadéra served as Prime Minister under Bozizé from 2008 until 2013.

Sentence(s)