Jean-Bedel Bokassa held public office at a time when the terms of that office were themselves being contested.
The record lists Jean-Bedel Bokassa as 2nd president (1966–76) and emperor (r. 1976–79) of the Central African Republic.
Jean-Bedel Bokassa was born at Bobangui in 1921. His recorded nationality is France.
Twentieth-century politics was conducted under the shadow of two world wars, decolonisation and the Cold War, and broadcast to electorates that could watch it happen.
The record of office reads: President of the Central African Republic (1966–1976) and Emperor of Central Africa (1976–1979).
His political affiliation is recorded as Movement for the Social Evolution of Black Africa.
Power is judged twice: once by contemporaries who felt it, and again by historians who did not.
Formal honours included the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, Grand Cross of the National Order of the Lion, Grand Cross of the Order of Wissam Alaouite and Grand Cordon of the National Order of the Leopard.
That the career was made in France is not incidental: the institutions available, the franchise, and the constraints of the moment all shaped what could be attempted.
Jean-Bedel Bokassa died in 1996, aged 75. The assessment continues, as it does for anyone who held power - which is the ordinary fate of a political life.
Achievements
- President of the Central African Republic (1966–1976)
- Emperor of Central Africa (1976–1979)
- Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour
- Grand Cross of the National Order of the Lion
- Grand Cross of the Order of Wissam Alaouite
- Grand Cordon of the National Order of the Leopard
