1921- . President and later self-proclaimed
emperor of the Central African Republic
1966-79. Commander in chief from 1963, in Dec
1965 he led a military coup which gave him
the presidency, and on 4 Dec 1977 he
proclaimed the Central African Empire with
himself as emperor for life. His regime was
characterized by arbitrary state violence and
cruelty. In exile 1979-86, he was tried and
imprisoned. Bokassa, born at Bobangui, joined
the French army 1939 and was awarded the
Croix de Guerre for his service with the
French colonial forces in Indochina. When the
Central African Republic achieved
independence 1960, he was invited to
establish an army. After seizing power, he
annulled the constitution and made himself
president for life 1972, and marshal of the
republic 1974. In 1976 he called in the
former president Dacko, whom he had
overthrown, as his adviser. Backed by France,
Dacko deposed him in a coup while Bokassa was
visiting Libya. In exile until 1986, he then
returned to the Central African Republic to
face the charges against him and received a
death sentence, commuted to life imprisonment
1988.