View source for Social:Emperor of Central Africa

{{Short description|Title of monarch of the Central African Empire}}
{{Infobox monarchy
| border             = imperial
| royal_title        = Emperor
| realm              = Central Africa
| native_name        = ''Empereur de Centrafrique''
| coatofarms         = Imperial Coat of arms of Central Africa (1976–1979).svg
| coatofarmscaption = Imperial coat of arms
| type               = other1 
| his/her            = His
| image              = Bokassa portrait (cropped).jpg
| caption            = '''Bokassa I'''
| formation          = 4 December 1976
| abolition          = 21 September 1979
| residence          = Renaissance Palace, [[Place:Bangui|Bangui]]
}}

'''Emperor of Central Africa''' ({{lang-fr|Empereur de Centrafrique}}) was the title used by Jean-Bédel Bokassa from 4 December 1976, who was crowned on 4 December 1977 in a lavish ceremony that was estimated to cost the Central African Empire {{wipe|United States dollar}}20 million (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|20|1977}}&nbsp;million in {{Inflation/year|US}}). Although nominally a [[Social:Constitutional monarchy|constitutional monarch]], in practice Bokassa ruled with [[Social:Autocracy|absolute power]]. For all intents and purposes, the country was still a [[Social:Military dictatorship|military dictatorship]], as had been the case with the Central African Republic since Bokassa took power in the 1966 coup d'état.

Bokassa I attempted to justify his actions by claiming that creating a monarchy would help Central Africa "stand out" from the rest of the continent, and earn the world's respect. The coronation consumed one third of the nation's annual budget and all of the {{wipe|France}} aid that year, but despite generous invitations, no foreign leaders attended the event. Many thought Bokassa was insane, and compared his egotistical extravagance with his contemporary – Africa's other well-known eccentric dictator, President of Uganda Idi Amin.

==List of rulers==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! {{Abbr|No.|Number}}
! Portrait
! Name<br />{{small|(Birth–Death)}}
! Reign start
! Reign end
! Duration
! Prime Minister
! Note
|-
! colspan="8"| Emperor of Central Africa (1976–1979)
|-
! rowspan="2"| 1
| rowspan="2"| [[File:Bokassa portrait (cropped).jpg|100px]]
| rowspan="2"| Bokassa I<br />{{small|(1921–1996)}}
| rowspan="2"| 4 December 1976
| rowspan="2"| 21 September 1979<br />{{small|Deposed.}}
| rowspan="2"| {{ayd|1976|12|4|1979|9|21}}
| Patassé<br />{{small|(1976–1978)}}
| rowspan="2"| He is the first emperor of central  Africa from December 4, 1976, and deposed on September 21, 1979.
|-
| Maïdou<br />{{small|(1978–1979)}}
|-
! colspan="8"| Head of the House of Bokassa (1979–present)
|-
! 1
| [[File:Bokassa portrait (cropped).jpg|100px]]
| Bokassa I<br />{{small|(1921–1996)}}
| 21 September 1979
| 3 November 1996<br />{{small|Died.}}
| {{ayd|1979|9|21|1996|11|3}}
| rowspan="2"| ''Vacant'', since the monarchy was abolished in 1979.
| Deposed on September 21, 1979, he became the Head of the House of Bokassa until his death on November 3, 1996.
|-
! 2
| 
| Bokassa II<br />{{small|(born 1973)}}
| 3 November 1996
| Present
| {{ayd|1996|11|3|}}
| After his father died on November 3, 1996, he became the Head of the House of Bokassa from November 3, 1996.
|}

==Gallery==
<gallery class="center">
File:Imperial Crown of the Central African Empire.jpg|Imperial Crown of Bokassa I.
File:Imperial Standard of Bokassa I (1976–1979).svg|Imperial Standard of Bokassa I.
</gallery>

==See also==
* History of the Central African Republic
* List of heads of state of the Central African Republic

==References==
* {{citation|last=Lentz|first=Harris M.|year=1994|title=Heads of States and Governments: A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Over 2,300 Leaders, 1945 through 1992|publisher=McFarland & Company|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|isbn=0-89950-926-6|oclc=30075961|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/headsofstatesgov00lent}}.


[[Category:Positions of authority]]

{{Sourceattribution|Emperor of Central Africa}}