President of the Central African Republic
Président de la République centrafricaine
Presidential standard
Incumbent Faustin-Archange Touadéra since 30 March 2016
Residence	Renaissance Palace, Bangui
Seat	Bangui
Term length	Five years, renewable once (before 2023)
Inaugural holder	David Dacko
Formation	12 December 1960 21 September 1979 (office reestablished)
Salary	EUR €3,049 per month[1]

Politics of the Central African Republic
Constitution Human rights LGBT rights
Government President Faustin-Archange Touadéra Vice President Not appointed Prime Minister Félix Moloua Council of Ministers
Parliament National Assembly President: Simplice Sarandji
Administrative divisions Prefectures Sub-prefectures
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This article lists the heads of state of the Central African Republic. There have been seven heads of state of the Central African Republic and the Central African Empire since independence was obtained from the French on 13 August 1960. This list includes not only those persons who were sworn into office as President of the Central African Republic but also those who served as de facto heads of state.

Jean-Bédel Bokassa served as a de facto head of state (and also reigned as Emperor from 1976 to 1979), while David Dacko (who served as de facto head of state from 1979 to 1981), André Kolingba, Ange-Félix Patassé, and François Bozizé were elected into office at some point during their tenure. To date, Kolingba is the only former head of state of the Central African Republic to voluntarily step down from the office through a democratic process, following the 1993 general election.

The current President of the Central African Republic is Faustin-Archange Touadéra, since 30 March 2016.^[2]

Succession

Before the adoption of the 2023 constitution, the President of the National Assembly was the constitutional successor of the president in the event of a vacancy.^[3]

Term

Before the adoption of the 2023 constitution,^[4] there was a two-term limit for the president in the Constitution of the Central African Republic. The term limit was not met by any president.^[5] The constitution of 2023 removed term-limits and extended the presidential term from five years to seven years.

Political affiliations

Political parties

Other factions

For heads of state with multiple affiliations, the political party listed first is the party the person was affiliated with at the beginning of the tenure.

Heads of state

No.	Name (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Elected	Term of office			Political affiliations		Notes
				Took office	Left office	Time in office
Central African Republic
French: République centrafricaine Sango: Ködörösêse tî Bêafrîka
—	David Dacko (1930–2003) President of the Provisional Government		—	14 August 1960[6]	12 December 1960[A]	5 years, 140 days		MESAN	Dacko served as president of the government from 1 May 1959[7] until the country declared its independence on 13 August 1960.[8]
1	David Dacko (1930–2003) President		1964	12 December 1960	1 January 1966[9]
2	Jean-Bédel Bokassa (1921–1996) President		—	1 January 1966[B]	4 December 1976	10 years, 338 days		Military	Bokassa seized power from Dacko in a successful coup d'état. He changed his name to Salah Eddine Ahmed Bokassa after converting to Islam on 20 October 1976.[10]
								MESAN[C]
Central African Empire
French: Empire centrafricain
1	Bokassa I (1921–1996) Emperor		—	4 December 1976[D]	21 September 1979[11]	2 years, 291 days		MESAN	Bokassa spent approximately US$20 million—one third of the country's annual budget—on his coronation ceremony on 4 December 1977.[12]
Central African Republic
French: République centrafricaine Sango: Ködörösêse tî Bêafrîka
3	David Dacko (1930–2003) President		1981	21 September 1979[E]	1 September 1981[13]	1 year, 345 days		MESAN	This was Dacko's second time as president of the Central African Republic. In February 1980, Dacko established the Central African Democratic Union (UDC) as the country's only political party.[14]
								UDC
—	André Kolingba (1936–2010) Chairman of the Military Committee of National Recovery		—	1 September 1981[F]	21 September 1985[G]	12 years, 51 days		Military	Kolingba seized power from Dacko in a successful coup d'état. Ange-Félix Patassé, with the assistance of François Bozizé, launched an unsuccessful coup d'état against the Kolingba government on 3 March 1982.[15]
—	André Kolingba (1936–2010) President and Head of State			21 September 1985	21 November 1986				Kolingba established the Central African Democratic Rally (RDC) as the country's only party in May 1986.[16]
								RDC
4	André Kolingba (1936–2010) President		1986[H]	21 November 1986	22 October 1993
5	Ange-Félix Patassé (1937–2011) President		1993[I] 1999	22 October 1993[17]	15 March 2003	9 years, 144 days		MLPC	Bozizé launched an unsuccessful coup d'état against the Patassé government on 28 May 2001.[18]
6	François Bozizé (born 1946) President		2005 2011	15 March 2003[J][19]	24 March 2013	10 years, 9 days		Military	Bozizé seized power from Patassé in a successful coup d'état. Shortly after, he appointed Abel Goumba as Prime Minister. Goumba had served as acting Prime Minister in 1959, before being overthrown by Dacko.[20]
								Independent
7	Michel Djotodia (born 1949) President		—	24 March 2013[K]	18 August 2013	292 days		Military	Djotodia was the leader of the Séléka rebel coalition in the ongoing civil war.
—	Michel Djotodia (born 1949) Head of State of the Transition			18 August 2013	10 January 2014[L]
—	Alexandre-Ferdinand Nguendet (born 1972) Acting Head of State of the Transition		—	10 January 2014	23 January 2014	13 days		RPR	Nguendet succeeded Djotodia after his resignation due to the continued conflict.
—	Catherine Samba-Panza (born 1954) Head of State of the Transition		—	23 January 2014	30 March 2016	2 years, 67 days		Independent	Samba-Panza became the first female head of state of the Central African Republic.
8	Faustin-Archange Touadéra (born 1957) President		2015–16 2020–21	30 March 2016	Incumbent	8 years, 9 days		Independent	Previously, Touadéra served as Prime Minister under Bozizé from 2008 until 2013.
								MCU