Catherine Samba-Panza facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Catherine Samba-Panza
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Samba-Panza in 2014
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| Transitional President of the Central African Republic | |
| In office 23 January 2014 – 30 March 2016 |
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| Prime Minister | André Nzapayeké Mahamat Kamoun |
| Preceded by | Alexandre-Ferdinand Nguendet (Acting) |
| Succeeded by | Faustin-Archange Touadéra |
| Mayor of Bangui | |
| In office 14 June 2013 – 23 January 2014 |
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| Preceded by | Nazaire Yalanga Nganaféï |
| Succeeded by | Hyacinthe Wodobodé |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Catherine Souga
26 June 1954 Fort Lamy, French Equatorial Africa (present-day N'Djamena, Chad) |
| Political party | Independent |
| Spouses |
Jean-Claude Sappot
(divorced)Cyriaque Samba-Panza
(m. 1998) |
| Children | Stéphane Christelle Jimmy |
| Alma mater | Panthéon-Assas University |
| Signature |  |
Catherine Samba-Panza (born 26 June 1954) is a politician from the Central African Republic. She served as the Transitional President of her country from 2014 to 2016. She was the first woman to lead the Central African Republic. Before becoming president, she was the Mayor of Bangui, the capital city, from 2013 to 2014.
Samba-Panza started her career in insurance and worked to support women's rights. In 2003, she helped lead a national meeting to bring people together. Later, she became mayor of Bangui when the city was facing many problems. In 2014, she was chosen to be the country's transitional president. Her main goals were to bring peace and help the country's economy recover. Her time as president ended in 2016. She also ran for president again in 2020–21 but was not elected.
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Early Life and Career
Catherine Souga was born on 26 June 1954 in N'Djamena, which was then called Fort Lamy. Her mother was from the Central African Republic, and her father was from Cameroon. When she was 18, she moved to the Central African Republic.
She studied law in Bangui and then insurance law in France. In 1990, she returned home and started working for an insurance company. Later, she opened her own insurance business. She is married to Cyriaque Samba-Panza and has three children.
Samba-Panza also became involved in helping her community. She worked with groups that focus on women's rights. She believed that women should have more economic support in Africa. She often said that women in her country needed to learn about their rights so they could defend themselves.
In 2003, she took her first political role. The president at the time asked her to be the vice president of a meeting about national peace. After that, she led the group that worked to put the meeting's ideas into action.
Mayor of Bangui
In May 2013, Catherine Samba-Panza was chosen to be the mayor of Bangui. She started her job on 14 June 2013. Even though she is Christian, both the Muslim and Christian groups in the country accepted her. This was because she was known for being fair and neutral. While she was mayor, she said she would step down once new elections were held.
As mayor, Samba-Panza had a big job: to rebuild Bangui. The city had been badly damaged by a civil war. Many of its resources were gone, and much of its buildings were destroyed. To fix the city's money problems, she worked to raise taxes and get help from other countries. Because of her hard work, people called her "the courageous mayor." She was replaced as mayor in February 2014.
Transitional President
Taking Office
After a lot of fighting in the Central African Republic, the president stepped down. Samba-Panza was then chosen to be the interim president. She was picked from a group of eight candidates. All candidates had to show they were not linked to any of the fighting groups. Samba-Panza later said she took the job because she "couldn't stand by and do nothing" while her country was in trouble. Both sides of the conflict welcomed her call for peace talks.
Samba-Panza became president on 23 January 2014. Her job was to lead the country until the next election, which was planned for 2015. On the day she took office, fighting still caused deaths in the capital. People and foreign investors saw her appointment as a good sign. She was chosen because people supported her, not because she took power by force.
When Samba-Panza took office, the country was in chaos. There was religious violence, and the government had lost control. She believed that poverty and poor leadership caused the conflict. She was the first woman to become president of the Central African Republic. At that time, she was one of only three female leaders in Africa. Samba-Panza looked up to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, another female African president. Many citizens felt that a woman and a mother might be better at bringing peace. Because of this, she was nicknamed "Mother Courage." She embraced this role, believing it would help bring peace.
Her Time as President
As president, Samba-Panza said her main goals were to bring back safety and jobs. She felt these two things were connected. She believed that former fighters needed jobs to prevent more violence. Samba-Panza wanted to "bring back peace and stability, to boost the economy and to gradually restore the rule of law." She said she was fair because her background was in helping people, not in politics. She also promised to fight against corruption.
The Central African Republic had no money of its own, so Samba-Panza's government relied on help from other countries. She welcomed the help from France. She also said that any French soldiers who committed crimes should be held responsible.
She appointed André Nzapayeké, a Christian, as her Prime Minister. Later, in August 2014, she replaced him with Mahamat Kamoun, a Muslim. In June 2015, Samba-Panza approved the creation of a special court. This court would investigate serious international crimes committed since 2003, working with the United Nations.
In September 2015, more violence broke out. Many people protested and asked Samba-Panza to resign. By the end of the year, some groups said her government struggled to make the country safe. Some critics felt that her presidency did not meet the high hopes people had.
The next election was planned for February 2015. As the interim president, Samba-Panza was not allowed to run. The election was delayed several times due to violence. It finally happened in December 2015, but a second round was needed in February 2016. By the end of her term, she felt some goals were not finished. These included disarming fighters and helping them rejoin society, improving security, and bringing the nation together. She served as president until 30 March 2016, when Faustin-Archange Touadéra became the new president.
After Being President
After leaving office, Samba-Panza stayed in Bangui. She continued to advise the government on peace efforts. She also became an election observer for the Carter Center. This meant she helped watch elections in other countries like Liberia and Senegal. She also took on leadership roles in international groups. She became president of the Pan African Women's Leadership Observatory.
On 28 August, Samba-Panza announced she would run in the 2020 presidential election. She said many people from different political groups asked her to run. She also pointed out that she willingly stepped down in 2016 as a reason to trust her. Samba-Panza promised to improve security and the economy. She was the only woman to run in that election. She did not win, receiving only a small number of votes.
In January 2021, Samba-Panza and other political figures were stopped from leaving the country. They were not given a reason at first. Later, the government said it was investigating opposition leaders for possible links to armed groups.
See also
- First women lawyers around the world
- List of the first women holders of political offices in Africa
- List of heads of state of the Central African Republic
