Bokassa, Jean-Bédel

also called Bokassa I

(born Feb. 22, 1921, Bobangui, Moyen-Congo, French Equatorial Africa [now in Central African Republic]—died Nov. 3, 1996, Bangui, Central African Republic) African military leader who was president of the Central African Republic (1966–76) and self-styled emperor of the Central African Empire (1976–79).

The son of a village chief, Bokassa attended local mission schools before joining the French army in 1939. He distinguished himself in the French conflict in Indochina, and by 1961 he had achieved the rank of captain. At the request of President David Dacko, Bokassa left the French armed forces to head the army of the newly independent Central African Republic. In 1966 Bokassa used his position as supreme military commander to overthrow Dacko and declare himself president of the republic. In that capacity he became known for his autocratic and unpredictable policies, and his government was characterized by periodic reshuffles in which the power of the presidency was gradually increased.

In December 1976 Bokassa assumed the title Emperor Bokassa I and changed the name of his country to the Central African Empire. He was crowned a year later, in emulation of his hero, Napoleon I, in a lavish ceremony that cost more than $20 million. By this time Bokassa's rule had effectively bankrupted his impoverished country, and his reign as emperor proved to be short-lived. Following the substantiation of international charges that Bokassa had personally participated in a massacre of 100 schoolchildren by his Imperial Guard, French paratroops carried out a military coup against him that reestablished the republic and reinstated Dacko as president (September 1979). Bokassa went into exile, first traveling to Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) but later settling in France.

Bokassa was sentenced in absentia to death in 1980, but he inexplicably chose to return to the Central African Republic in 1986. He was arrested and put on trial, and in 1987 he was found guilty of the murders of the schoolchildren and other crimes (although he was acquitted of charges of cannibalism). His death sentence was subsequently commuted, and he was freed in 1993.