François Bozizé
A military leader who seized the presidency of the Central African Republic in a coup and ruled for a turbulent decade.
Born 1946 (age 80)·President of the Central African Republic from 2003 to 2013·Birthday: October 14·Baby Boomers
Biography
François Bozizé's story is inextricably linked to the chronic instability of the Central African Republic. A career soldier who rose to become army chief under Emperor Bokassa, his political life has been a series of falls, exiles, and violent returns. After a failed coup attempt in the 1980s, he fled to France, only to return and serve in government in the 1990s. His defining moment came in 2003, while the sitting president was abroad. Bozizé marched his troops into the capital, Bangui, and seized power with little resistance, promising order after years of misrule. His decade-long presidency, which included an election victory in 2005, was marked by constant struggle against numerous rebel groups vying for control of the country's vast, mineral-rich hinterlands. International peacekeepers were a frequent presence. His rule ended as it began: overthrown by a rebel coalition in 2013, forcing him into exile once more. Bozizé remains a potent and controversial symbol of the nation's cycle of coups and fragile governments, a former president whose legacy is the very turmoil he promised to end.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
François was born in 1946, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When François Was Born
The biggest hits of 1946
#1 Movie
The Best Years of Our Lives
Best Picture
The Best Years of Our Lives
François's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1946Born
United Nations holds its first General Assembly
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $5,150Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Prisoner of Love" — Perry ComoBest Picture: The Best Years of Our Lives
1951Started school
First color TV broadcast in the US
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Too Young" — Nat King ColeBest Picture: An American in Paris
1959Became a teenager
Fidel Castro takes power in Cuba
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $12,400Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"The Battle of New Orleans" — Johnny HortonBest Picture: Ben-Hur
1962Could drive
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1964Could vote
Civil Rights Act signed; Beatles arrive in America
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $13,450Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"I Want to Hold Your Hand" — The BeatlesBest Picture: My Fair Lady
1967Turned 21
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
1976Turned 30
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1986Turned 40
Challenger disaster; Chernobyl nuclear meltdown
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $66,600Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"That's What Friends Are For" — Dionne & FriendsBest Picture: Platoon
1996Turned 50
Dolly the sheep cloned
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $99,700Min wage: $4.75/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Macarena" — Los del RioBest Picture: The English Patient
2006Turned 60
Twitter launches; Pluto reclassified as dwarf planet
Gas: $2.59/galHome: $174,700Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Bad Day" — Daniel PowterBest Picture: The Departed
2016Turned 70
Donald Trump elected president; Brexit vote
Gas: $2.14/galHome: $181,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Love Yourself" — Justin BieberBest Picture: Moonlight
2026Turned 80
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Seized power as President of the Central African Republic in a military coup in March 2003.
- Won a presidential election in 2005, formalizing his rule after the initial coup.
- Served as head of state for a decade, a relatively long period in the country's volatile modern history.
Did You Know?
He is the only president of the Central African Republic to have been born in what is now Gabon.
He was a general under the notorious Emperor Bokassa I.
After his ouster in 2013, he was subject to UN sanctions for inciting violence.
“A country is not governed with speeches and theories, but with authority.”
