André Kolingba
| André-Dieudonné Kolingba | |
|---|---|
 |
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| 4th President of the Central African Republic | |
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In office 1 September 1981 – 22 October 1993 |
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| Prime Minister | Vacant (2 September 1981 – 15 March 1991) Édouard Frank Timothée Malendoma Enoch Derant Lakoué |
| Preceded by | David Dacko |
| Succeeded by | Ange-Félix Patassé |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
12 August 1936 Bangui, Ubangi-Shari (now Central African Republic) |
| Died | 7 February 2010 (aged 73) Paris, France |
| Political party | Central African Democratic Party |
| Religion | Christian |
André-Dieudonné Kolingba (12 August 1936 – 7 February 2010) was a Central African politician, who was the fourth president of the Central African Republic (CAR), from 1 September 1981 until 1 October 1993. He took power from President David Dacko in a bloodless coup d'état in 1981 and lost power to Ange-Félix Patassé in a democratic election held in 1993. Kolingba retained the strong support of France until the fall of the Berlin Wall, after which both internal and external pressure forced him to hold presidential elections which he lost.
His twelve-year term in office saw the growing influence of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank in decisions by donor-nations regarding financial support and management of the Central African state. Many members of Kolingba's ethnic group, the Yakoma people, obtained lucrative posts in the public, private and parastatal sectors of the CAR's economy during his era. This gave rise to growing tension between so-called "southerners" (including the riverine Yakoma) and "northerners" (including the savanna Gbaya) in the CAR which led to violent confrontations between these groups during the Patassé era (1993–2003).
André-Dieudonné Kolingba was born on 12 August 1936 in Bangui, the capital of the French colony of Oubangui-Chari in French Equatorial Africa. A member of the riverine Yakoma ethnic group, Kolingba (meaning "Male Buffalo") joined the French military in 1954 and was transferred to the Central African army at independence in 1960. He became a sub-lieutenant on 1 October 1964, a colonel, and then a Brigadier General on 3 April 1973. As a battalion commander, he was named Technical Adviser to the Minister of National Defense, Veterans and War Victims on 1 March 1977 as well as Aide-de-camp of His Imperial Majesty Bokassa I. Then he served briefly as the CAR's ambassador to Canada — replacing Sylvestre Bangui — and the Federal Republic of Germany before being named Minister of in March 1979. When Emperor Bokassa was overthrown in 1979 and David Dacko was restored to power by the French, General Kolingba gained Dacko's favor and was made Army Chief of Staff in July 1981.
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