Angèle Patassé

Angèle Essotina Patassé (c. 1955 – December 3, 2007) was a Togolese-born public figure who became

Patassé, a member of the Kabye people, was born Angèle Essotina.^[2] She was raised in the town of Kouméa, Kozah Prefecture, in the Kara Region of northern Togo.^[2]

In 1982,

In 1992, Ange-Félix Patassé returned to the Central African Republic from exile. A year later, he was elected president in the 1993 presidential election, an office he held from 1993 until his overthrow in 2003. Angèle Patassé, as his wife, became First Lady of the Central African Republic during his tenure.

In March 2003, First Lady Angèle Patassé accompanied her husband and a Central African government delegation to a regional summit in

Angèle Patassé and her family flew to Lomé in her native Togo on March 19, 2003, where she lived in exile for the rest of her life.^[1][4]

Angèle Patassé died of a long illness, which reportedly included multiple organ failure, at a private clinic in Lomé, Togo, on December 3, 2007, at the age of 52.^[1][2] Her health had declined before her death.^[2] She was survived by her husband and their three children.^[1][3][5]

Angèle Patassé was buried in Lomé, Togo, on December 22, 2007, following a funeral at the Lomé villa were the former president and first lady had lived in exile since 2003.^[3][5] Dignitaries in attendance at her funeral included an official government delegation from the Central African Republic consisting of Minister of National Solidarity and Family Marie Solange Pagonendji-Ndakala, Minister of Urban Planning Timoléon Mbaikoua, vice president Sérédouma of the Central African Republic women's organization, and the Consul General of the Central African Republic in Togo, Mrs. Zoungoula.^[5] Former President Ange-Félix Patassé died in 2011.^[6]

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