André Kolingba
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André-Dieudonné Kolingba | |
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4th President of the Central African Republic | |
In office 1 September 1981 – 22 October 1993 | |
Prime Minister |
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Preceded by | David Dacko |
Succeeded by | Ange-Félix Patassé |
Personal details | |
Born | Bangui, Ubangi-Shari | 12 August 1936
Died | 7 February 2010 Paris, France | (aged 73)
Political party | RDC |
Spouse | |
Signature | |
André-Dieudonné Kolingba (12 August 1936 – 7 February 2010) was a
His twelve-year term in office saw the growing influence of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank in decisions by donor-nations regarding financial support and management of the Central African state. Many members of Kolingba's ethnic group, the Yakoma people, obtained lucrative posts in the public, private and parastatal sectors of the CAR's economy during his era. This gave rise to growing tension between so-called "southerners" (including the riverine Yakoma) and "northerners" (including the savanna Gbaya) in the CAR which led to violent confrontations between these groups during the Patassé era (1993–2003).
Biography
Early life and education
André-Dieudonné Kolingba was born on 12 August 1936 in Bangui, the capital of the French colony of
He became a sub-lieutenant on 1 October 1964, a colonel, and then a brigadier general on 3 April 1973. As a battalion commander, he was named technical adviser to the minister of national defense, veterans and war victims on 1 March 1977, as well as aide-de-camp of
Overthrow of David Dacko
In September 1981, general Kolingba overthrew Dacko in the
Ruling years
After overthrowing Dacko in 1981, Kolingba established a military committee for national reconstruction to rule the country, but in fact he ruled as a military dictator, more corrupt than brutal, until 1986, when he submitted a Constitution to a national referendum. The document was approved with an implausible total of 92 percent. Under its terms, Kolingba was automatically elected president for a six-year term. It also established the Central African Democratic Rally (Rassemblement Démocratique Centrafricain, RDC) as the country's only legal party. Parliamentary elections were held in 1987, in which voters were presented with a single list of RDC candidates. With all candidates effectively handpicked by Kolingba, he effectively held complete political control over the country.
The end of the Cold War in 1992 made Western nations less willing to tolerate anti-communist Third World dictatorships. Internal and external pressures eventually forced Kolingba to open up the regime. In March 1991 he agreed to share power with
Election of Patassé
On 3 February 1993, Kolingba established an interim organ, the National Provisional Political Council of the Republic (Conseil National Politique Provisoire de la République). On 28 February 1993, Abel Goumba, leader of the opposition Democratic Forces for Dialogue (Concertation des Forces Démocratiques), announced President Kolingba was no longer president. Unwilling to give in, Kolingba remained in his post but the group of local donor representatives (GIBAFOR), notably from the USA and France, forced him to hold proper elections. The same team which the UN Electoral Assistance unit had provided for the earlier election, and which Kolingba's government caused to fail, was brought in to give its support. Kolingba came in fourth, with only 12 percent of the vote - well short of a spot in the runoff. Angé Patassé won the presidency in the second round on 19 September 1993. When Kolingba turned over the presidency to Patassé a month later, it marked the first - and to date - only time since independence when an incumbent president peacefully surrendered power to the opposition.
Attempted coup
On 28 May 2001, the
Awards and family
Kolingba married Mireille Kotalimbora-Kolingba in 1969, and the couple had twelve children.[4][5][6]
Kolingba was named officier de l'Ordre de l'Opération Bokassa (Officer of the Order of the Operation Bokassa) on 1 December 1971, officier de l'Ordre de la Médaille de la Reconnaissance Centrafricaine (Officer of the Order of the Medal of Central African Gratitude) on 1 January 1972, chevalier de l'Ordre du Merite Postal (Knight of the Order of Postal Merit) on 1 December 1972, commandeur (Commander) (1 January 1975) and dignité de Grand-Croix (Grand Cross) (1 December 1981) de l'Ordre du Mérite Centrafricain (Central African Order of Merit).
References
- ISBN 9781615355006.
- ^ Zembrou, Felix Yepassis. "De radio Bangui à radio Centrafrique : 60 ans déjà". centrafriqueledefi.com. Centrafrique le Defi. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ Former Central Africa president dies: party Archived January 2, 2016, at the Wayback Machine Yahoo! News. Retrieved 2010-02-07.
- ^ Bradshaw, Richard; Rius, Juan Fandos (2016). Historical Dictionary of the Central African Republic (Historical Dictionaries of Africa). Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 456.
- ^ "Mireille Kotalimbora-Kolingba". British Museum. Archived from the original on 2023-08-05. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
- ^ "Mireille Kolingba et François Mitterrand". Getty Images. 1984-12-13. Archived from the original on 2023-08-05. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
Sources
- Kalck, Pierre (2004). Historical Dictionary of the Central African Republic. Metuchen, & London: The Scarecrow Press.
- Delayen, Julie Anne. "Origins and Causes of Military Rule in the Central African Republic." M.A. thesis, University of Florida, 1985.
- Titley, Brian (1997). Dark Age: The Political Odyssey of Emperor Bokassa. London & Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press.
- Saulnier, Pierre (1998). Le Centrafrique: Entre mythe et réalité. Paris: L'Harmattan.