André Kolingba

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André Kolingba (born August 12, 1935 in Bangui , † February 7, 2010 in Paris ) was President of the Central African Republic from 1981 to 1993 .

soldier

Kolingba joined the French army and was used in Indochina and Cameroon . After the Central African Republic gained independence on August 13, 1960, he moved to their new army . During the reign of Jean-Bédel Bokassa , he represented his country for a time as ambassador to Canada and Bonn . He later became chief of staff.

president

In September 1981 he overthrew Bokassa's predecessor and successor David Dacko and, as chairman of the military council, became head of state himself. On November 21, 1986, his draft constitution was passed with 92.22% of the vote, which confirmed him as president for another six years. His new party Rassemblement Démocratique Centrafricain (RDC) (German: Democratic Association of Central Africa) became the new unity party and received all seats in the parliamentary elections on July 31, 1987.

During his tenure, ex-Emperor Bokassa returned from exile in France on October 24, 1986 and was sentenced to death for numerous offenses during his tenure . The sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in 1988. Most recently, Bokassa benefited from a general amnesty that Kolingba announced at the end of his presidency in mid-1993.

In the early 1990s, like other African heads of state, Kolingba was forced to allow further parties. The presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for October 25, 1992, however, were annulled by the Supreme Court due to irregularities. In the first round of the presidential election on August 22, 1993, he reached fourth place with 12.1% of the vote and was eliminated. In the second ballot on September 19, Ange-Félix Patassé prevailed against Abel Goumba . In the parliamentary elections taking place at the same time, his party took second place, but only had 13 of the 85 MPs. Kolingba accepted his defeat and handed over his office to Patassé on October 22, 1993.

Further career

In the presidential election on September 19, 1999, he ran again. He received 19.38% of the vote and finished second, while Patassé was confirmed with 51.63% in the first ballot. The defeated candidates complained that the elections were unfair. In 2001 he launched a failed coup attempt against the new Patassé government. Kolingba then moved abroad for a few years. In Bangui, he was sentenced to death in absentia in August 2002. In October 2003 he apologized to an arbitration committee for mistakes made during his term in office and during the attempted coup in 2001. Patassé had been overthrown by François Bozizé in 2003 and Kolingba decided in 2004 to run again in the presidential elections on March 13, 2005. Bozizé was accused in 1982 of being behind an attempted coup against Kolingba and was extradited to the Central African Republic in 1989. As part of an amnesty decided by Bozizé, the judgment against him had become invalid. With 16.36% of the vote and third place, this election ended unsuccessfully for him, while Bozizé was confirmed in office in May against Martin Ziguélé . Shortly after the March election, there was a shooting in front of his home. Kolingba spoke of an attempted assassination attempt, the government of a misunderstanding.

death

Kolingba traveled to Paris on November 2, 2003 to undergo prostate surgery. He died on February 7, 2010 in Paris.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Fischer Weltalmanach - Biographien zur Zeitgeschichte since 1945 , Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag 1985, ISBN 3-596-24553-2

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Kolingba, André
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Central African politician, President of the Central African Republic
DATE OF BIRTH August 12, 1935
PLACE OF BIRTH Bangui
DATE OF DEATH February 7, 2010
Place of death Paris