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) |
| Signature |  |
Faustin-Archange Touadéra (born 21 April 1957) is a politician and former professor from the Central African Republic. He has been the President of the Central African Republic since March 2016. 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 chosen as president. He won in the second round of voting against another former prime minister, Anicet Georges Dologuélé. He was re-elected for his second term on 27 December 2020.
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Early life and education
Faustin-Archange Touadéra was born in Bangui, the capital city of the Central African Republic. His father was a driver and his mother was a farmer. His family originally came from a town called Damara, which is north of Bangui.
He went to the Barthelemy Boganda College in Bangui for his high school education. He finished in 1976. After that, he studied at the University of Bangui and the University of Abidjan. He earned a Mathematics Doctorate degree 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 teacher at the University of Bangui. From 1989 to 1992, he was the vice-dean of the university's science department. In 1992, he became the director of the college that trains teachers.
He joined a special committee in 1999 that worked to make mathematics programs similar across French-speaking countries and the Indian Ocean. 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 head (rector) of the university from 2005 to 2008. During this time, he started important programs, like training for entrepreneurs and creating the Euclid Consortium.
Political career
Prime minister
President François Bozizé chose Touadéra to be the prime minister on 22 January 2008. This happened after the previous prime minister, Élie Doté, resigned. Touadéra's first government was formed on 28 January and had 29 members.
In December 2008, a national discussion was held to talk about the country's future. After this, President Bozizé changed Touadéra's government on 18 January 2009. This was done to create a "government of national unity." Touadéra was reappointed as prime minister the very next day, on 19 January. His new government had 31 ministers. Many former rebel group members were included in this new government. This was to help prepare the country for upcoming local and national elections.
In January 2013, a peace agreement was made between the government and a rebel group called Séléka. As part of this agreement, President Bozizé removed Touadéra from his position on 12 January 2013. The agreement stated that a new prime minister would be chosen from the political opposition.
Later, Touadéra announced that he would run as an independent candidate in the presidential election planned for October 2015.
EUCLID involvement
In 2008, the Euclid Consortium at the University of Bangui helped create an international university called EUCLID (Euclid University). When Touadéra was prime minister, he signed an agreement in May 2010 for the Central African Republic to join EUCLID. His chief of staff, Simplice Sarandji, also signed an agreement for EUCLID's main office in March 2011.
After he was no longer prime minister, Touadéra took on an honorary role at EUCLID called High Steward.
President
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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, many of the candidates who lost in the first round decided to support him for the second round. He won the election with 62% of the votes.
He officially became president on 30 March 2016. During his swearing-in speech, he promised to work for peace and development in the Central African Republic. He also said he would try to disarm armed groups. On 2 April 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.
After Touadéra became president, France announced it would end its military help in the Central African Republic. France had about 2,500 soldiers in the country. These soldiers were helping around 10,000 United Nations peacekeepers. Without France's direct support, Touadéra faced the big challenge of keeping cities safe.
The Central African Republic's economy faced difficulties. In 2013, its economy shrank by 36 percent. Since then, the economy has slowly grown. However, the farming sector, which is very important to the country's economy, was still struggling. This made it hard for the government to collect enough money.
In December 2022, President Touadéra attended the United States–Africa Leaders Summit 2022. There, he met with US President Joe Biden. In July 2023, he also attended the 2023 Russia–Africa Summit in Saint Petersburg and met Russian President Vladimir Putin. Touadéra stated that Russia had helped his country.
In 2023, Touadéra called for a vote, known as a referendum. This vote was about changing the country's constitution. The proposed changes would remove the limit on how many terms a president could serve. At the time, a president could only serve two five-year terms. The changes would also make each term seven years long. If the rules had not changed, Touadéra would not have been able to run in the next presidential election. The referendum was approved, but some opposition groups did not participate in the vote.
In April 2024, he visited France for the second time since becoming president. There, he signed an agreement to improve the relationship between the Central African Republic and France.
Ministry
Faustin-Archange Touadéra is a member of the Fraternal Union of Baptist Churches. He used to be a deacon in one of their churches.
Personal life
Touadéra is married to two women, Brigitte Touadéra and Marguerite "Tina" Touadéra. He has three children.
See also
In Spanish: Faustin-Archange Touadéra para niños
