David Dacko

David Dacko on a 1962 postage stamp

David Dacko (born March 24, 1930 in Bouchia , then French Equatorial Africa , now the Central African Republic , † November 20, 2003 in Yaoundé , Cameroon ) was the first President of the Central African Republic.

Dacko trained in Brazzaville and then worked as a teacher before going into politics. In the period before independence from France on August 13, 1960, he worked closely with his uncle Barthélemy Boganda , who served as head of government during the independence period. After his death in 1959 he succeeded him for six years and thus became the country's first president from 1960. At the same time he was chairman of the ruling party Mouvement pour l'évolution sociale de l'Afrique noire (MESAN). On January 1, 1966, Dacko was overthrown in a coup by his cousin Jean-Bédel Bokassa . The new regime then placed him under house arrest for several years. Nevertheless, he was rehabilitated and in the last years of Bokassa's rule even his adviser.

On 20./21. September 1979 Dacko took advantage of the absence of Bokassa and took power again with French help ( Operation Barracuda ). In March 1981 he was re-elected with 50.23% of the vote. After this success, he took the opportunity to disband two opposition parties and ban one. However, these measures did not prevent his fall on September 20, 1981 by André Kolingba .

A little later, Dacko founded a new party, the Movement for Democracy and Development (MDD), which was also represented in parliament in the 1990s.

In 1992 and 1999, Dacko ran two unsuccessful presidential candidacies. He eventually died at the age of 73 in Yaoundé, where he was staying for medical treatment.

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personal data
SURNAME	Dacko, David
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Central African politician, President
DATE OF BIRTH	March 24, 1930
PLACE OF BIRTH	Bouchia , French Equatorial Africa
DATE OF DEATH	November 20, 2003
Place of death	Yaoundé , Cameroon