Faustin-Archange Touadéra facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Faustin-Archange Touadéra
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Touadéra in 2019
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| 8th President of the Central African Republic | |
| Assumed office 30 March 2016 |
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| Prime Minister | Simplice Sarandji Firmin Ngrébada Henri-Marie Dondra Félix Moloua |
| Preceded by | Catherine Samba-Panza |
| Prime Minister of the Central African Republic | |
| In office 22 January 2008 – 17 January 2013 |
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| President | François Bozizé |
| Preceded by | Élie Doté |
| Succeeded by | Nicolas Tiangaye |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 21 April 1957 Bangui, Ubangi-Shari (present-day Central African Republic) |
| Political party | United Hearts Movement (2019–present) |
| Other political affiliations |
Independent (2015–2019) Kwa na Kwa (before 2015) |
| Spouses | Brigitte Touadéra Tina Touadéra |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | University of Bangui (BSc) University of Cocody (MSc) University of Lille (PhD) University of Yaoundé I (PhD) |
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Faustin-Archange Touadéra was born on April 21, 1957. He is a politician and academic from the Central African Republic. Since March 2016, he has been the President of the Central African Republic. Before becoming president, he served as the Prime Minister from January 2008 to January 2013.
In the presidential election held between December 2015 and February 2016, he was elected president. He won in the second round of voting against another former prime minister, Anicet Georges Dologuélé. He was re-elected for a second term on December 27, 2020.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Faustin-Archange Touadéra was born in Bangui, the capital city. His father was a driver and his mother was a farmer. His family originally came from Damara, a town north of Bangui.
He completed his high school education at the Barthelemy Boganda College in Bangui in 1976. After that, he studied at the University of Bangui and the University of Abidjan. He earned his first doctorate degree in Mathematics in 1986 from the Lille University of Science and Technology in France. He earned another doctorate in mathematics in 2004 from the University of Yaoundé I in Cameroon.
Academic Career
In 1987, Touadéra started working as an assistant mathematics lecturer at the University of Bangui. He became the vice-dean of the university's Faculty of Science from 1989 to 1992. In 1992, he became the director of the teachers' training college.
He joined a committee that worked on standardizing mathematics programs in French-speaking countries in 1999. He was the president of this committee from 2001 to 2003. In May 2004, he became the vice chancellor of the University of Bangui. He then served as the rector (head) of the university from 2005 to 2008. During this time, he started important projects, like a program to train students in entrepreneurship and the creation of the Euclid Consortium.
Prime Minister
President François Bozizé appointed Touadéra as prime minister on January 22, 2008. This happened after the previous prime minister, Élie Doté, resigned. Touadéra's first government had 29 members and was appointed on January 28.
In December 2008, a national discussion was held. After this, President Bozizé ended Touadéra's government on January 18, 2009. This was done to prepare for a new government that would include different groups. Touadéra was reappointed as prime minister the very next day, on January 19. His new government had 31 ministers, and many former rebel leaders were included. This was to help prepare the country for upcoming elections.
In January 2013, a peace agreement was reached between the government and a rebel group called Séléka. As part of this agreement, President Bozizé removed Touadéra from his position on January 12, 2013. The agreement required a new prime minister to be chosen from the political opposition.
Later, Touadéra announced that he would run as an independent candidate in the presidential election scheduled for October 2015.
EUCLID University
In 2008, the Euclid Consortium at the University of Bangui led to the creation of an international university called EUCLID (Euclid University). As prime minister, Touadéra signed the agreement for the Central African Republic to join EUCLID in May 2010. His chief of staff, Simplice Sarandji, also signed an agreement for EUCLID's main office in March 2011.
In April 2012, Touadéra led a graduation ceremony in New York for a diplomat from Burundi. After he was no longer prime minister, Touadéra took on an honorary role as EUCLID's High Steward.
President
Election to Presidency
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Touadéra ran for president in the election held from December 2015 to February 2016. He came in second place in the first round of voting. However, he gained support from most of the other candidates who had lost. He then won the second round with 62% of the votes.
He was sworn in as president on March 30, 2016. During his speech, he promised to work towards disarming armed groups. He also vowed to "make CAR a united country, a country of peace, a country facing development." On April 2, 2016, he appointed Simplice Sarandji as prime minister. Sarandji had managed Touadéra's election campaign and was his chief of staff when Touadéra was prime minister.
Time in Office
After Touadéra became president, France confirmed it would end its military help in the Central African Republic. France had about 2,500 soldiers in the country, supporting around 10,000 United Nations peacekeepers. Without France's help, Touadéra faced the challenge of keeping major cities safe.
The economy of the Central African Republic faced difficulties. The country's economy has slowly grown since then. However, the farming sector, which is very important, was still struggling. This made it hard for the government to collect enough money.
In April 2022, the Central African Republic decided to make Bitcoin an official currency. At that time, it was only the second country to do so, after El Salvador. However, this plan was later stopped in 2023.
In December 2022, President Touadéra attended the United States–Africa Leaders Summit 2022. There, he met with US President Joe Biden.
Reports say that Touadéra's personal security team includes members of a Russian private security group. In July 2023, Touadéra attended the 2023 Russia–Africa Summit in Saint Petersburg. He met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Touadéra expressed support for Russia, saying that Russia "had helped to save its democracy and prevent a civil war." Also in July 2023, Touadéra called for a vote to change the rules about how long a president can serve. The rules at the time limited a president to two five-year terms. He wanted to remove these limits and make each term seven years long. To hold this vote, Touadéra removed the head of the constitutional court in October 2022. This court had previously said the vote was against the country's laws. The opposition groups did not participate in the vote.
In April 2024, he visited the Elysée Palace in France. This was his second visit since becoming president in 2016. During this visit, he signed an agreement to improve relations between the Central African Republic and France.
In July 2025, he announced that he would run for president again. He is the candidate for the United Hearts Movement in the 2025 Central African general election scheduled for December.
$CAR Meme Coin
On February 10, 2025, Touadéra announced the creation of $CAR. This was described as the country's official meme coin and an "experiment" for national development. The value of the coin briefly reached US$900 million before its price dropped significantly by over 90%.
Personal Life
Touadéra was a deacon in a Baptist church and is still a member of that church union. He has three children.
See also
In Spanish: Faustin-Archange Touadéra para niños
