François Bozizé

François Bozizé

François Bozizé [ fʀɑ̃ˈswa bɔziˈze ] (born October 14, 1946 in Mouila , Gabon ) was President of the Central African Republic from March 15, 2003 until Michel Djotodia's coup on March 24, 2013 .

Life

Bozizé attended an officer's school in Bouar Province and was made a captain in 1975 . In 1978 he was promoted to Brigadier General by the then Emperor Jean-Bédel Bokassa . After Bokassa was removed from office by David Dacko in 1979 , Bozizé was promoted to Minister of Defense. During the military government of André Kolingba (1981 to 1993) Bozizé worked as communications minister, but was then accused of planning a coup attempt . After his arrest in Cotonou, Benin , in July 1989, he was detained and tortured, but was acquitted in 1991.

In the elections in 1993, for which Bozizé ran, he lost to Ange-Félix Patassé , who succeeded Kolingba. He then supported the new president for many years and helped him put down mutinies in the army in 1996 and 1997 . Bozizé was then appointed Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces .

In May 2001, however, Bozizé's loyalty was called into question after another failed coup against Patassé. The uprising was put down with the help of Libyan troops. Bozizé refused to answer questions about his involvement and finally fled to Chad with 300 supporters in November .

From there, Bozizé carried out regular attacks on the Central African Republic during 2002. In October he launched an attack on the capital Bangui . With the help of Libya and the Movement for the Liberation of the Congo (a rebellious group from the Democratic Republic of the Congo ), Patassé was able to repel the attack.

On March 15, 2003, Bozizé was finally able to seize power. Patassé was at a meeting in Niger at the time and unable to return: Bozizé and his troops had gained control of Bangui and the airport. Patassé first fled to Cameroon and then to Togo .

Bozizé in Brussels

In March 2004, Bozizé caused an international stir when he allowed the deposed Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to use the Central African Republic as an exile. Aristide only stayed there briefly.

Bozizé suspended the 1995 constitution and on December 5, 2004, a new constitution, which is said to be very similar to the old one, was approved in a referendum . After he came to power, Bozizé declared that he would not run in the planned presidential election, but in light of the successful referendum, he announced his intention to stand.

At the end of December 2004, Bozizé was one of five candidates for the presidential election at the beginning of 2005. In January 2005, he announced that three more candidates who had been excluded at the beginning could now participate; At the end of January it was announced that more candidates were allowed to participate, bringing the total to 11. Former President Patassé was not among them. The elections have also been postponed one month from February 13th to March 13th.

After around two years, Bozizé's rule was legalized in 2005. On March 13, he initially achieved a clear lead over his rival candidate Martin Ziguélé in the first ballot . The second round of voting took place on May 8, in which he received 64.6% of the vote. On June 11, 2005, Bozizé was finally sworn in as President.

By the morning of March 24, 2013, Séléka rebels took the presidential palace. Bozizé then fled to the Democratic Republic of the Congo , according to a statement by one of his advisors , but arrived in Cameroon the next day .

In May 2014, the US government blocked Bozizé's bank accounts.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Bozize to contest presidency as an independent candidate . December 13, 2004. Retrieved August 14, 2008.
2. ^ President of the Central African Republic on the Run , In: Zeit Online, March 24, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
3. ↑ Christopher Torchia and Rukmini Callimachi: "Central African Republic president flees to Cameroon," Washington Post, March 25, 2013, viewed March 26, 2013
4. ↑ Handelsblatt.de:Sanktionen, USA block accounts of Central Africans

literature

• François Bozizé , in: Internationales Biographisches Archiv 32/2013 from August 6, 2013, in the Munzinger archive ( beginning of article freely accessible)

Web links

Commons : François Bozizé  - collection of images, videos and audio files