Jean-Bédel Bokassa

Leader of Central Africa from 1966 to 1979

Jean-Bédel Bokassa ([ʒɑ̃ bedɛl bɔkasa] ; 22 February 1921 – 3 November 1996) was a Central African politician and military officer who served as the second president of the Central African Republic (CAR) and Emperor of the Central African Empire (CAE) as Bokassa I, ruling these two states from 1966 to 1979. Bokassa seized power in the Saint-Sylvestre coup d'état on 1 January 1966. He served about eleven years as president and three years as self-proclaimed Emperor of Central Africa, and although the regime gave the appearance of being a constitutional monarchy, in practice it was an autocratic regime.

From Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA. More on occurri.