Bozizé has since been elected President in an election considered by observers to be fair and free.

It has hence been considered disloyal by the two northerner presidents Patassé and Bozizé, both of whom have equipped and run their own militias outside FACA.

Although Francois Bozizé has a background in FACA himself ( being its chief-of-staff from 1997 to 2001 ), he has been cautious by retaining the defence portfolio, as well as by appointing his son Jean-Francis Bozizé cabinet director in charge of running the Ministry of Defence.

President François Bozizé has said that one of his priorities is to get the support of the international community.

Bozizé, who has received much support from President Déby, immediately decided to close the C. A. R .- Sudan border ( a decision which he has no capacity at all to enforce ).

Bozizé has strengthened military presence along the border and deployed an amphibious force patrolling the Ubangi river.

It is not known whether these agreements are still valid, but Bozizé has anyway a continuously good relation with Libya.

Given that Bozizé accuses Sudan of supporting the UFDR rebels who are actively fighting the Central African Government, the relation between the two countries has remained good.

Bozizé even planned to visit Khartoum in December 2006, but had to cancel his trip when Chad ( which has strained relations with the Sudanese Government ) threatened to withdraw its military support to C. A. R.

In addition to being President, Bozizé has been Minister of National Defense since taking power.

Bozizé and his party both won in the elections.

The National Elections Commission declared Bozizé the winner with 64. 6 percent of the vote to 35. 4 percent for Ziguélé.

Due to failure to curb deepening unrest in the northern part of the country, Gambi was in July 2006 replaced with Bozizé ’ s old friend from the military academy, Jules Bernard Ouandé.

* Central African Republic Bush War ( 2004 – 2007 ) – began with the rebellion by the Union of Democratic Forces for Unity ( UFDR ) rebels, after the current president of the Central African Republic, François Bozizé, seized power in a 2003 coup.

Following Dacko's ouster by André Kolingba in September 1981, Bozizé was appointed Minister of Communications, but fled to the north of the country with 100 soldiers after his involvement in a failed coup attempt led by Ange-Félix Patassé on 3 March 1982, in which he accused Kolingba of treason and proclaimed the change of power on Radio Bangui.

Patassé's ruling party accused Chadian president Idriss Déby of destabilizing the Central African Republic by supporting Bozizé with men and equipment.

On 15 March 2003, Bozizé finally succeeded in seizing power, with his forces entering Bangui unopposed.

His government was formed on March 31, 2003 ; in its composition it was viewed as a compromise between Bozizé and Goumba, with a number of military allies and relatives of Bozizé receiving key posts while other posts went to associates and allies of various political leaders and to independent figures regarded as competent.

He was subsequently reinstated as a candidate by Bozizé, along with two other candidates, on January 4.

He met with Bozizé and effectively endorsed the takeover, saying that Bozizé was trustworthy because he had expressed a " vision " of " openness " and " reconciliation ".

Presidential and parliamentary elections were held in the Central African Republic on March 13, 2005 ( first round ) and May 8, 2005 ( second round ), marking the end of the transitional process that began with the seizure of power by François Bozizé in a March 2003 coup.

A run-off election between Bozizé, who won the most votes in the first round according to official results, and Martin Ziguélé, a former prime minister under Patassé, was held, and Bozizé won this second round with 64. 6 % of the vote.

After taking power with the seizure of the capital, Bangui, on March 15, 2003, Bozizé said that his rule was a transitional period, and that he would step down at the end of the transition.

Bozizé sharply criticized the seven candidates in a speech in the city of Mobaye on January 15, which was carried on state radio, accusing them of " nothing more or less than sorcery " and " madness, bad faith, coupled with a dose of misinformation ".

Partial results ( 28. 9 % of polling stations, or 1, 198 out of 4, 145 stations ) from the election on March 18 put Bozizé in the lead with about 55 % of the votes, according to the election commission: 184, 734 out of 334, 732 votes counted were for Bozizé.

On March 31, official results were announced: Bozizé came in first with just under 43 % of the votes, while Ziguélé came in second with 23. 5 %.

Early results from CEMI on May 12 showed Bozizé with a strong lead.

Subsequently, partial results from CEMI on May 16 showed Bozizé with slightly more than 60 % of the total vote, according to results from 1, 698 of the country's 4, 161 polling stations.

On 15 March 2003 rebels who controlled part of the country moved into Bangui and installed their commander, General François Bozizé, as president, while President Patassé was out of the country.

in negotiating a peace agreement was signed in Tripoli in February 2007, between President Bozizé and the head of the Front démocratique du people centrafricain ( FDPC ) rebel movement ( who is also said to have close ties to Union of Democratic Forces for Unity ( UFDR ), the rebel group that seized several cities in northern C. A. R.

During the election in 2005, President Denis Sassou-Nguesso openly supported Bozizé.

* 2003 – President Ange-Felix Patasse is overthrown in a coup by François Bozizé

** François Bozizé, President of the Central African Republic

Since 2003, when President François Bozizé came to power, thousands of citizens of the Central African Republic have been forced to flee their homes as a result of the escalating conflict between armed rebels and government troops.

In 2010, President François Bozizé issued a decree rehabilitating Bokassa and calling him " a son of the nation recognised by all as a great builder ".

François Bozizé Yangouvonda ( born 14 October 1946 ) is the President of the Central African Republic.

Ange-Félix Patassé ( January 25, 1937 – April 5, 2011 ) was a Central African politician who was President of the Central African Republic from 1993 until 2003, when he was deposed by the rebel leader François Bozizé.

Goumba, who was President of the Patriotic Front for Progress ( FPP ) political party, served under President François Bozizé as Prime Minister from March 2003 to December 2003 and then as Vice-President from December 2003 to March 2005.

Despite having no political experience, Gaombalet was appointed as Prime Minister by President François Bozizé on December 12, 2003, replacing Abel Goumba, who in turn became Bozizé's vice-president.

After the overthrow of Patassé, self-proclaimed President François Bozizé declared an amnesty for all those involved in the attempted coup d ' état of 2001.

In the 2005 parliamentary election, the party won three seats in the National Assembly as part of the National Convergence Kwa Na Kwa coalition, which supports President François Bozizé.

His appointment as Prime Minister by President François Bozizé on 13 June 2005, following a presidential and parliamentary election, was considered surprising ; Doté, who had previously been working outside the country in Tunis for the ADB, was at the time largely unknown in CAR.