March 3, 1937 - Ange-Félix Patassé
His presidency began with genuine democratic promise — twice elected in elections considered fair by international standards — but Patassé's decade in power became defined by military mutinies, ethnic fractures between northern and southern factions, and a progressive collapse of the alliances that had sustained him. By his second term, he had lost the confidence of longtime supporters and foreign backers alike, ending in a coup and exile. The arc of his rule illustrates how fragile early democratic gains can be when state institutions lack the depth to survive factional pressure.
From Wikipedia
Ange-Félix Patassé (25 January 1937 – 5 April 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 in the 2003 coup d'état. Patassé was the first president in the CAR's history (since 1960) to be chosen in what was generally regarded as a fairly democratic election (1993) in that it was brought about by donor pressure on President André Kolingba and assisted by the United Nations Electoral Assistance Unit.
He was chosen a second time in a fair election (1999) as well. However, during his first term in office (1993–1999), three military mutinies in 1996–1997 led to increasing conflict between so-called "northerners" (like Patassé) and "southerners" (like his predecessor President André Kolingba). Expatriate mediators and peacekeeping troops were brought in to negotiate peace accords between Patassé and the mutineers and to maintain law and order. During his second term as president, Patassé increasingly lost the support of a number of his long-time allies as well as the French, who had intervened to support him during his first term in office. Patassé was ousted in March 2003 and went into exile in Togo.
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