Jean-Bedel Bokassa
1921 – 1996 Central African army officer, president, self-proclaimed emperor
The Central African ruler who crowned himself emperor in a lavish French-backed ceremony.
- Religion
- Converted between Catholicism and Islam
- Affiliations
- French colonial army; close ties to France
Jean-Bedel Bokassa seized power in the Central African Republic in a 1965 coup and in 1976 declared himself Emperor Bokassa I of a new Central African Empire. His coronation, partly funded by France, cost a sum equal to much of the state budget. He was overthrown in 1979 in an operation involving French troops, and was later convicted of crimes including murder.
In the timeline
- 1976 Bokassa crowns himself emperor of Central Africa mentioned
- 1979 French troops remove Emperor Bokassa mentioned