Bokassa was born on 22 February 1921 as one of 12 children to Mindogon Mgboundoulou, a village chief, and his wife Marie Yokowo in Bobangui, a large M ' Baka village in the Lobaye basin located at the edge of the equatorial forest, then a part of colonial French Equatorial Africa, some southwest of Bangui.

Bokassa was then stationed as a military technical assistant in Brazzaville and later Bangui before being promoted to the rank of Captain on 1 July 1961.

On 10 October 1979, the Canard Enchaîné satirical newspaper reported that President Bokassa had offered the then Minister of Finance Valéry Giscard d ' Estaing two diamonds in 1973.

Patassé then left for France, where he remained in exile until the overthrow of Bokassa in September 1979.

Dacko, who belonged to the same Ngbaka ethnic group as Bokassa, was imprisoned, placed under house arrest in Lobaye, but then was released on July 16, 1969 and eventually named personal counselor of President Bokassa on September 17, 1976.

The republic was restored, and Bokassa, who took refuge in Côte d ' Ivoire and France, was sentenced to death in absentia for various crimes, including cannibalism.

An African judicial commission later determines that Emperor Jean-Bédel Bokassa " almost certainly " took part in the massacre.

Widespread violence in Bangui followed the March 1981 elections, which took place following a French operation to depose Jean-Bédel Bokassa in 1979 and replace him with David Dacko.

After graduating in 1939, Bokassa took the advice offered to him by his grandfather, M ' Balanga, and Father Grüner, by joining the French Army as a private on 19 May.

After the occupation of France by Nazi Germany, Bokassa served in the Forces ' African unit and took part in the capture of the Vichy government's capital at Brazzaville.

In exchange, Bokassa frequently took d ' Estaing on hunting trips in Central Africa and supplied France with uranium, which was vital for France's nuclear energy and weapons program in the Cold War era.

In 1966, Jean-Bédel Bokassa took power in a coup d ' état.

On 20 September 1979, Dacko, with French support, led a bloodless coup that overthrew Bokassa while he was out of the country.

The country ’ s first president, David Dacko was overthrown by his army chief-of-staff, Jean-Bédel Bokassa in 1966.

Following Bokassa, David Dacko was restored in 1981, only to be overthrown once again by his new army chief of staff, General André Kolingba after only a few months in power.

* January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko.

* September 20 – French paratroopers help David Dacko to overthrow Bokassa in the Central African Republic.

In 1979 French troops helped drive Bokassa out of power and restore former president David Dacko.

This action was also controversial, particularly since Dacko was Bokassa ’ s cousin and had appointed Bokassa as head of the military, and unrest continued in the Central African Republic, leading to Dacko being overthrown in another coup in 1981.

As a cousin of the CAR President David Dacko and nephew of Dacko's predecessor Barthélémy Boganda, Bokassa was given the task of creating the new country's military.

Due to his relation to Dacko and experience abroad in the French military, Bokassa was able to quickly rise through the ranks of the army, becoming the Central African army's first colonel on 1 December 1964.

Despite the number of recent military coups in Africa, Dacko publicly dismissed the likelihood that Bokassa would try to take control of the country.

Jean-Arthur Bandio, the minister of interior, suggested Dacko name Bokassa to the Cabinet, which he hoped would both break the colonel's close connections with the CAR army and satisfy the colonel's desire for recognition.

To combat the chance that Bokassa would stage a coup, Dacko created the gendarmerie, an armed police force of 500 and a 120-member presidential security guard, led by Jean Izamo and Prosper Mounoumbaye, respectively.

Dacko sent Bokassa to Paris as part of the country's delegation for the Bastille Day celebrations in July 1965.

However, Dacko forbade his return, and the infuriated Bokassa spent the next few months trying to obtain supporters from the French and Central African armed forces, who he hoped would force Dacko to reconsider his decision.

Dacko eventually yielded to pressure and allowed Bokassa back in October 1965.

Bokassa claimed that Dacko finally gave up after French President Charles de Gaulle had personally told Dacko that " Bokassa must be immediately returned to his post.

Tensions between Dacko and Bokassa continued to escalate in the coming months.

Bokassa received substantive support from his co-conspirator, Captain Alexandre Banza, who commanded the Camp Kassaï military base in northeast Bangui, and, like Bokassa, had been stationed with the French army around the world.

Bokassa called Izamo at his headquarters and asked him to come to Camp de Roux to sign some documents that needed his immediate attention.

Around midnight, Bokassa, Banza and their supporters left Camp de Roux to take over the capital.

Bokassa moved to Camp de Roux, where he felt he could safely run the government without having to worry about Banza's thirst for power.

On 12 April, Banza presented his case before a military tribunal at Camp de Roux, where he admitted to his plan, but stated that he had not planned to kill Bokassa.

Upon his return to France, Bokassa was stationed at Fréjus, where he taught radio transmissions to African recruits.

He was taken back to the presidential palace, where Bokassa hugged the president and told him, " I tried to warn you — but now it's too late ".

The American newsmagazine, Time, reported that Banza " was dragged before a Cabinet meeting where Bokassa slashed him with a razor.

Bokassa, who was visiting Libya on a state visit at the time, fled to Côte d ' Ivoire ( Ivory Coast ) where he spent four years living in Abidjan.

Bokassa fled to Côte d ' Ivoire, where he spent four years living in Abidjan.

When Bokassa's rule came under increasing criticism during the late 1970s, Dacko managed to leave for Paris where the French convinced him to cooperate in a coup to remove Bokassa from power and restore him to the presidency.

Bokassa allegedly participated in the massacre, beating some of the children to death with his cane ; however, the initial reports received by Amnesty International indicated only that the 100 or more school students who died actually suffocated or were beaten to death while being forced into a small jail cell following their arrest.