Catherine Samba-Panza
{{good article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2022}}
{{Short description|Central African lawyer and politician (born 1954)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| image = Catherine Samba-Panza 2014-09-26.jpg
| name = Catherine Samba-Panza
| office = Transitional President of the Central African Republic
| primeminister = André Nzapayeké
Mahamat Kamoun
| term_start = 23 January 2014
| term_end = 30 March 2016
| predecessor = Alexandre-Ferdinand Nguendet {{small|(Acting)}}
| successor = Faustin-Archange Touadéra
| office1 = Mayor of Bangui
| term_start1 = 14 June 2013
| term_end1 = 23 January 2014
| successor1 = Hyacinthe Wodobodé
| birth_name = Catherine Souga
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1954|6|26|df=y}}
| birth_place = Fort Lamy, French Equatorial Africa (present-day N'Djamena, Chad)
| death_date =
| death_place =
| party = Independent
| spouse = {{plainlist|
- {{marriage|Jean-Claude Sappot|end=divorced}}
- {{marriage|Cyriaque Samba-Panza|1998}}
}}
| children = Stéphane
Christelle
Jimmy
| alma_mater = Panthéon-Assas University
| signature = Signature of Catherine Samba-Panza.png
| caption = Samba-Panza in 2014
}}
Catherine Samba-Panza ({{Nee|Souga}}; born 26 June 1954) is a Central African politician who served as Transitional President of the Central African Republic from 2014 to 2016. She was the first woman to serve as head of state in the Central African Republic. Prior to her tenure as acting president, she was the Mayor of Bangui from 2013 to 2014.
Samba-Panza began her career operating an insurance brokerage and working as a women's rights advocate. She was chosen in 2003 to serve as the vice president of a national reconciliation conference, and she was then chosen as president of the subsequent committee to implement the conference's recommendations. She was appointed mayor of Bangui in 2013 after the city was devastated by the Central African Republic Civil War. She was then appointed to serve as transitional president of the Central African Republic in 2014. She was tasked with restoring stability to the nation by disarming militant groups, and she emphasized the nation's economic recovery through employment and foreign aid. Her term ended in 2016. She was a presidential candidate in the 2020–21 election, but she was unsuccessful.
Early life and career
Catherine Souga was born on 26 June 1954 in Fort Lamy, French Chad, as the second oldest of her parents' six children.{{cite news |first=|last=|title=RCA: qui est Catherine Samba-Panza? Jeunesse, études, carrière et entrée en politique |url=https://corbeaunews-centrafrique.org/rca-qui-est-catherine-samba-panza-jeunesse-etudes-carriere-et-entree-en-politique/ |work=Corbeau News Centrafrique |publisher= |date=2020-06-25 |access-date=2025-01-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229062050/https://corbeaunews-centrafrique.org/rca-qui-est-catherine-samba-panza-jeunesse-etudes-carriere-et-entree-en-politique/ |archive-date=2024-02-29 |url-status=live}} Her mother, Henriette Waloma (also spelled Warouma), was from Ubangi-Shari—later the Central African Republic (CAR), while her father, Barthélémy Djou, was an accountant from French Cameroon. She was raised in N'Djamena until the age of either 16 or 18,{{cite news|last=Ngoupana|first=Paul-Marin|title=Une femme élue à la présidence en Centrafrique|url=http://www.lepoint.fr/fil-info-reuters/une-femme-elue-a-la-presidence-en-centrafrique-20-01-2014-1782418_240.php|newspaper=Le Point|date=20 January 2014|language=fr|access-date=22 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304054615/http://www.lepoint.fr/fil-info-reuters/une-femme-elue-a-la-presidence-en-centrafrique-20-01-2014-1782418_240.php|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead}} when the family decided to move to Bangui, Central African Republic. Once in Bangui, she worked and studied with her maternal uncle, Simon-Pierre Kibanda, a diplomat who served as secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before being appointed chief of protocol beginning in 1971, and his Israeli wife, Sonia.
Souga, who had begun secondary school in N'Djamena, graduated from Marie-Jeanne Caron High School (lycée Marie-Jeanne Caron) in Bangui and completed her A4 baccalaureate in 1973 at Lycée d'Etat des Rapides. She then studied corporate law in Bangui.{{cite news |last=Perrin |first=Olivier |date=21 January 2014 |title=Une "maire courage" pour réconcilier ses enfants de République centrafricaine |url=http://www.lesoir.be/407253/article/actualite/monde/2014-01-21/une-maire-courage-pour-reconcilier-ses-enfants-republique-centrafricaine |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140122105202/http://www.lesoir.be/407253/article/actualite/monde/2014-01-21/une-maire-courage-pour-reconcilier-ses-enfants-republique-centrafricaine |archive-date=22 January 2014 |access-date=21 January 2014 |newspaper=Le Soir |language=fr}} She then moved to Paris to study journalism and law and graduated from a diploma of specialized higher studies (DESS) in insurance law from Panthéon-Assas University in 1981. Following her graduation, Samba-Panza worked as an underwriter for the Préservatrice – Foncière insurance agency in Paris.
Samba-Panza was married to her first husband, Jean-Claude Sappot, while working and studying in France. The couple had three children: Stéphane, Christelle and Jimmy. Her marriage to Sappot ended in divorce.>
In 1984, she returned to Bangui to join the staff of the Cantral African state-owned insurance company, SIRIRI. She then joined the Allianz's "AGF Centrafrique Assurances" subsidiary, where she worked from 1989 until 2007.{{Cite web |date=2017-11-02 |title=#ellessimposent : Catherine Samba-Panza, de la présidence centrafricaine au leadership féminin |url=https://information.tv5monde.com/terriennes/ellessimposent-catherine-samba-panza-de-la-presidence-centrafricaine-au-leadership |access-date=2023-10-09 |website=information.tv5monde.com |language=fr |archive-date=23 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231023235305/https://information.tv5monde.com/terriennes/ellessimposent-catherine-samba-panza-de-la-presidence-centrafricaine-au-leadership |url-status=live }} Samba-Panza also founded her own brokerage firm, CSP Assurances-Conseils, but reportedly found that corruption made it difficult to operate such a company in the Central African Republic..{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=23 January 2014|title=Catherine Samba-Panza sworn in as new CAR president|url=https://www.france24.com/en/20140123-catherine-samba-panza-sworn-new-car-president|access-date=22 January 2021|website=France 24|language=en|archive-date=11 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411084539/https://www.france24.com/en/20140123-catherine-samba-panza-sworn-new-car-president|url-status=live}} In the late 2000s, she was hired by another brokerage, Gras Savoye, where she served as managing director until 2013.
In 1998, Samba-Panza married her second husband, Cyriaque Samba-Panza, a former CAR government official whom Jeune Afrique described as a "well-known political figure" within the country.{{cite news |first=Gaston |last=Madenga |title=Centrafrique: Biographie de Catherine Samba-Panza |url=https://www.centrafriqueledefi.com/pages/biographies-histoire/centrafrique-2.html |work=Centrafrique le défi |publisher= |date=2020-06-25 |access-date=2025-01-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240722020221/https://www.centrafriqueledefi.com/pages/biographies-histoire/centrafrique-2.html |archive-date=2024-07-22 |url-status=dead}}{{cite news |first=Vincent |last=Duhem |title=Centrafrique: 5 choses à savoir sur Catherine Samba Panza, la nouvelle présidente de transition |url=https://www.jeuneafrique.com/166118/politique/centrafrique-5-choses-savoir-sur-catherine-samba-panza-la-nouvelle-pr-sidente-de-transition/ |work=Jeune Afrique |publisher= |date=2014-01-20 |access-date=2025-01-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230107083912/https://www.jeuneafrique.com/166118/politique/centrafrique-5-choses-savoir-sur-catherine-samba-panza-la-nouvelle-pr-sidente-de-transition/ |archive-date=2023-01-07 |url-status=live}}{{Cite web |last= |first= |date= |title=100Women {{!}} Avance Media {{!}} H.E Catherine Samba-Panza |url=https://100women.avancemedia.org/catherinesambapanza/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420170333/https://100women.avancemedia.org/catherinesambapanza/ |archive-date=20 April 2021 |access-date=22 January 2021 |website= |language=en-US}} Cyriaque Samba-Panza has served as a government minister for several tenures under former Presidents André Kolingba and François Bozizé, beginning with Secretary of State for Planning, Statistics and International Cooperation in 1987.
=Activism and political career=
Samba-Panza also entered civil society at this time, working with non-governmental organizations.{{Cite book |last=Heath-Brown |first=Nick |title=The Statesman's Yearbook 2016: The Politics, Cultures and Economies of the World |publisher=Springer |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-349-57823-8 |pages=306 |language=en}} She placed particular emphasis on work as a women's rights advocate. She affiliated with the women's rights group, the Association of Women Lawyers of Central Africa, and with this group she supported women in government, assistance for sexual violence victims, and the end of female genital mutilation. Samba-Panza has also called for economic support for women in Africa, demanding that African governments do more to further women-owned businesses.{{Cite web |date=2022-11-17 |title=African Women Entrepreneurs Call for Support of Africa Free Trade |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/african-women-entrepreneurs-call-for-support-of-africa-free-trade-/6838967.html |access-date=2023-10-20 |website=VOA |language=en |archive-date=23 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231023235304/https://www.voanews.com/a/african-women-entrepreneurs-call-for-support-of-africa-free-trade-/6838967.html |url-status=live }} She has said that she was able to escape some of the discrimination faced by women because she "was always a fighter", and she has lamented that many women in the CAR "don't know their rights so they can't defend them".
Samba-Panza took her first political position in 2003, when she was named the vice president of a national reconciliation conference by President François Bozizé after he seized power in a coup.{{Cite journal |date=2014 |title=CAR – Catherine Samba-Panza |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-825X.2014.05506.x |journal=Africa Research Bulletin: Political, Social and Cultural Series |language=en |volume=51 |issue=1 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-825X.2014.05506.x |issn=0001-9844 |access-date=8 October 2023 |archive-date=23 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231023235304/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-825X.2014.05506.x |url-status=live }} She was then chosen as the president of the committee to implement the conference's recommendations.
Mayor of Bangui
Samba-Panza was appointed mayor of Bangui in May 2013 by the government of Michel Djotodia after he seized power in a coup. She took office on 14 June 2013.{{cite news |last=Duhem |first=Vincent |date=20 January 2014 |title=Centrafrique : 5 choses à savoir sur Catherine Samba Panza, la nouvelle présidente de transition |language=fr |newspaper=Jeune Afrique |url=http://www.jeuneafrique.com/Article/ARTJAWEB20140120155950/centrafrique-cnt-conseil-national-de-transition-crise-centrafricaine-crise-centrafricaine-centrafrique-5-choses-a-savoir-sur-catherine-samba-panza-la-nouvelle-presidente-de-transition.html |access-date=24 January 2014 |archive-date=7 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150607095242/http://www.jeuneafrique.com/Article/ARTJAWEB20140120155950/centrafrique-cnt-conseil-national-de-transition-crise-centrafricaine-crise-centrafricaine-centrafrique-5-choses-a-savoir-sur-catherine-samba-panza-la-nouvelle-presidente-de-transition.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news|last=|first=|date=14 June 2013|title=Catherine Samba Panza prête serment à Bangui|url=http://www.radiondekeluka.org/societe/item/15873-la-nouvelle-pr%C3%A9sidente-de-la-d%C3%A9l%C3%A9gation-sp%C3%A9ciale-de-la-ville-de-bangui,-madame-catherine-samba-panza,-a-pris-officiellement-ses-fonctions-de-maire-ce-14-juin-2013-la-c%C3%A9r%C3%A9monie-a-eu-lieu-au-palais-de-justice-%C3%A0-bangui.html|accessdate=31 January 2014|website=|publisher=Radio Ndeke Luka|language=fr|archive-date=18 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130618040726/http://www.radiondekeluka.org/societe/item/15873-la-nouvelle-pr%C3%A9sidente-de-la-d%C3%A9l%C3%A9gation-sp%C3%A9ciale-de-la-ville-de-bangui,-madame-catherine-samba-panza,-a-pris-officiellement-ses-fonctions-de-maire-ce-14-juin-2013-la-c%C3%A9r%C3%A9monie-a-eu-lieu-au-palais-de-justice-%C3%A0-bangui.html|url-status=live}} Though she was a Christian, her appointment was accepted by both the Muslim Séléka and the Christian Anti-balaka factions due to her reputation for neutrality.{{cite web |last= |first= |date=20 January 2014 |title=Central African Republic MPs elect Catherine Samba-Panza |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25811250 |accessdate=22 January 2021 |website= |publisher=BBC World News |archive-date=25 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190425075930/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25811250 |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |date=13 April 2017 |title="I called all my children to lay down their arms" |url=https://cmi.fi/2017/04/13/called-children-lay-arms/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230606200257/https://cmi.fi/2017/04/13/called-children-lay-arms/ |archive-date=6 June 2023 |access-date=3 March 2024 |website=Crisis Management Initiative}} While serving as mayor, she insisted that she would step down as soon as elections were held.{{Cite news |date=2013-07-08 |title=En Centrafrique, une maire courage |language=fr-FR |work=La Croix |url=https://www.la-croix.com/Actualite/Monde/En-Centrafrique-une-maire-courage-2013-07-08-983710 |access-date=2023-10-09 |issn=0242-6056 |archive-date=23 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231023235304/https://www.la-croix.com/Actualite/Monde/En-Centrafrique-une-maire-courage-2013-07-08-983710 |url-status=live }}
As the interim mayor, Samba-Panza was tasked with rebuilding the city after it was devastated by the Central African Republic Civil War. All of the city's funds and supplies had been looted, and much of its infrastructure had been destroyed. Her strategy to address the city's funding problem included raising taxes and courting foreign aid. For her work, she came to be known as "the courageous mayor". She was succeeded as mayor by Hyacinthe Wodobodé, who was appointed on 14 February 2014.{{cite web |last1=Arsenault |first1=Claire |title=En Centrafrique, Hyacinthe Wodobodé, une nouvelle maire pour Bangui |url=http://www.rfi.fr/afrique/20140208-centrafrique-hyacinthe-wodobode-nouvelle-maire-bangui |website=rfi.fr |publisher=RFI |accessdate=10 September 2015 |language=fr |date=8 February 2014 |archive-date=24 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924141612/http://www.rfi.fr/afrique/20140208-centrafrique-hyacinthe-wodobode-nouvelle-maire-bangui/ |url-status=live }}
Transitional president
= Taking office =
File:Cérémonie au camp Mpoko 2014 1.jpg soldiers in 2014]]
Following an escalation of the conflict in the CAR, Djotodia stepped down after nine months in power.{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=David |date=2014-01-25 |title=Central African Republic's 'Mother Courage' fights to bring peace where the men have failed |language=en-GB |work=The Observer |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/25/catherine-samba-panza-central-african-republic |access-date=2023-09-28 |issn=0029-7712 |archive-date=28 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928072716/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/25/catherine-samba-panza-central-african-republic |url-status=live }} Samba-Panza was chosen as the interim president, replacing acting president Alexandre-Ferdinand Nguendet.{{cite web|author=Ngoupana|first=Paul-Marin|date=20 January 2014|title=Central African Republic's capital tense as ex-leader heads into exile|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-centralafrican-idUKBREA090O220140111|access-date=20 January 2014|website=|publisher=Uk.reuters.com|archive-date=14 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140214060304/http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/01/11/uk-centralafrican-idUKBREA090O220140111|url-status=dead}} She was chosen from a list of eight candidates who had to prove they had no links to either the Séléka or the Anti-balaka.{{cite web|last=|first=|date=20 January 2014|title=CAR appoints Bangui mayor as interim leader|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2014/01/car-2014120133557833528.html|accessdate=20 January 2014|website=|publisher=Al Jazeera English|archive-date=23 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140123210724/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2014/01/car-2014120133557833528.html|url-status=live}} Samba-Panza later said that she accepted the position because she "couldn't stand by and do nothing while [her] country fell into chaos". Her call for talks between both sides to the conflict was welcomed by the parties.{{cite web |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2014/01/car-leader-pledges-talks-with-armed-groups-201412285543966125.html |title=CAR leader pledges talks with armed groups |publisher=Al Jazeera English |accessdate=25 January 2014 |archive-date=20 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140220050254/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2014/01/car-leader-pledges-talks-with-armed-groups-201412285543966125.html |url-status=live }} After beating Désiré Kolingba in a second round ballot 75 to 53, she said:
{{Blockquote|text="I call on my children, especially the anti-balaka, to put down their arms and stop all the fighting. The same goes for the ex-Séléka – they should not have fear. I don't want to hear any more talk of murders and killings. Starting today, I am the president of all Central Africans, without exclusion."|author=|title=|source=}}
Samba-Panza was sworn in as President on 23 January 2014,{{cite news |title=New CAR leader sworn in as tensions escalate |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2014/01/new-car-leader-sworn-as-tensions-escalate-2014123162736447639.html |work=Al Jazeera English |date=23 January 2014 |accessdate=23 January 2014 |archive-date=24 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140124082607/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2014/01/new-car-leader-sworn-as-tensions-escalate-2014123162736447639.html |url-status=live }} with a mandate to serve until the next election, which was scheduled for 2015. On the day of her inauguration, civil conflict killed an estimated sixteen people within the capital's suburbs. Her appointment as president was seen as a positive change by observers and foreign investors, as she was chosen for popular support rather than taking power by force.
Samba-Panza took office during a period of lawlessness in which religious violence took place between Christian and Muslims and the government's control over the nation had collapsed.{{Cite news |last=Nossiter |first=Adam |date=2014-01-20 |title=Woman Chosen to Lead Central African Republic Out of Mayhem |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/21/world/africa/un-body-set-to-appoint-a-monitor-for-central-african-republic.html |access-date=2023-10-06 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=23 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231023235304/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/21/world/africa/un-body-set-to-appoint-a-monitor-for-central-african-republic.html |url-status=live }} She suggested poverty and a failure of governance were the causes of the conflict.{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/video/africa/2014/02/political-manipulation-blamed-car-unrest-201429235449737704.html|title=Politics blamed for CAR divisions|accessdate=31 December 2015|archive-date=7 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150607093315/http://www.aljazeera.com/video/africa/2014/02/political-manipulation-blamed-car-unrest-201429235449737704.html|url-status=live}} Upon taking office, Samba-Panza was the first woman to become the country's president. At the time, she was one of three female heads of state in Africa, after Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in Liberia and Joyce Banda in Malawi. Samba-Panza has spoken of Johnson Sirleaf as a role model.{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=David |date=2014-03-02 |title=Can Catherine Samba-Panza save the Central African Republic? |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/02/catherine-samba-panza-central-african-republic |access-date=2023-09-28 |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=20 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170920122808/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/02/catherine-samba-panza-central-african-republic |url-status=live }} Her status as a female leader in a time of crisis was seen as symbolic among citizens, who felt that a woman and mother may be better equipped to bring peace between warring factions. For this reason, she was nicknamed Mother Courage. She leaned into the maternal role, believing it to be more efficient for fostering peace than acting as a more traditional leader.
= Tenure =
As president, Samba-Panza declared that her first priorities were to restore security and employment. She believed the two to be connected, as former militants had been left unemployed and still had the potential to commit acts of violence. Samba-Panza described her intentions during her tenure as being "to bring back peace and stability, to boost the economy and to gradually restore the rule of law".{{Cite web |last=Quenum |first=Fréjus |date=16 February 2016 |title=Samba-Panza: "I have accomplished my mission" |url=https://www.dw.com/en/samba-panza-i-have-accomplished-my-mission/a-19051938 |access-date=2023-10-20 |website=DW |language=en |archive-date=13 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210213003539/https://www.dw.com/en/samba-panza-i-have-accomplished-my-mission/a-19051938 |url-status=live }} Samba-Panza argued that she did not have a political bias because her experience was in civil society instead of politics, and she likewise took on an anti-corruption platform because of her experiences in the private sector.
As the CAR had no funds of its own, Samba-Panza's government relied entirely on foreign aid. Samba-Panza welcomed the French intervention in the CAR. She weighed this against crimes committed by some French soldiers, saying that they made up a small number and had to be held responsible individually instead of as a group.
André Nzapayeké, a Christian, was appointed as Prime Minister to serve during her tenure. Samba-Panza then replaced him with Mahamat Kamoun, a Muslim, in August 2014.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=16 November 2015 |title=CAR president appoints first Muslim PM |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2014/08/car-president-appoints-first-muslim-pm-201481119339126423.html |accessdate=16 November 2015 |website=Al Jazeera |archive-date=13 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150213010956/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2014/08/car-president-appoints-first-muslim-pm-201481119339126423.html |url-status=live }} As the Séléka had no ties to Kamoun, it threatened to boycott the government and withdraw from the ceasefire.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=11 August 2014|title=Seleka ex-rebels refuse to join new CAR government|url=http://mg.co.za/article/2014-08-11-seleka-ex-rebels-refuse-to-join-new-car-government/|accessdate=16 November 2015|website=The M&G Online|archive-date=17 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117033328/http://mg.co.za/article/2014-08-11-seleka-ex-rebels-refuse-to-join-new-car-government/|url-status=live}} Samba-Panza authorized the creation of a Special Criminal Court in June 2015 to prosecute "grave international crimes committed since 2003" in conjunction with the United Nations.{{Cite web |date=2016 |title=Central African Republic Events of 2015 |url=https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2016/country-chapters/central-african-republic |access-date=20 October 2023 |website=Human Rights Watch |archive-date=23 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231023235303/https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2016/country-chapters/central-african-republic |url-status=live }} A surge of violence in September 2015 caused hundreds of protesters to demand Samba-Panza's resignation,{{Cite web |date=2015-09-28 |title=Eye on Africa - Samba-Panza: Former officials are 'trying to return to power' |url=https://www.france24.com/en/2015-09-28-eye-africa-bangui-violence-togo-voodoo-new-year-burkina-faso-diendere |access-date=2023-10-20 |website=France 24 |language=en |archive-date=23 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231023235303/https://www.france24.com/en/2015-09-28-eye-africa-bangui-violence-togo-voodoo-new-year-burkina-faso-diendere |url-status=live }} and Human Rights Watch determined by the end of the year that Samba-Panza's administration had "struggled to establish security". Critics of her presidency feel that it did not meet the hopeful expectations that it set.{{Cite web |date=2017-11-02 |title=#ellessimposent : Catherine Samba-Panza, de la présidence centrafricaine au leadership féminin {{!}} TV5MONDE - Informations |url=https://information.tv5monde.com/terriennes/ellessimposent-catherine-samba-panza-de-la-presidence-centrafricaine-au-leadership |access-date=2023-10-20 |website=information.tv5monde.com |language=fr |archive-date=23 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231023235305/https://information.tv5monde.com/terriennes/ellessimposent-catherine-samba-panza-de-la-presidence-centrafricaine-au-leadership |url-status=live }}
The 2015 general election was scheduled for February 2015. As the interim president, Samba-Panza was ineligible to run. It was postponed several times because of violence in the capital.{{Cite news |date=2016-01-02 |title=Former Central African Republic PM leads in presidential vote |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-centralafrica-election-idUSKBN0UG0GX20160102 |url-status= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190411030233/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-centralafrica-election-idUSKBN0UG0GX20160102 |archive-date=11 April 2019 |access-date=2023-10-09 |work=Reuters |language=en}} The election was held in December 2015, but irregularities necessitated a second round of elections, which was held in February 2016. By the end of her tenure, she considered several objectives unfinished. These included disarmament and reintegration of militants, security reform, humanitarianism, and national reconciliation. During the disarmament process, Samba-Panza dismissed the idea of using force against those who did not turn in their weapons.{{Cite web |date=2016-01-13 |title=Central African Republic goes back to square one |url=https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/analysis/2015/10/06/central-african-republic-goes-back-square-one |access-date=2023-10-20 |website=The New Humanitarian |language=en |archive-date=24 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231024000806/https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/analysis/2015/10/06/central-african-republic-goes-back-square-one |url-status=live }} Samba-Panza served as president until 30 March 2016, when Faustin-Archange Touadéra was sworn in as her successor.[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-35623491 CAR presidential election: Faustin Touadera declared winner] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128162104/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-35623491 |date=28 January 2021 }} BBC News, 20 February 2016
Post-presidency
File:Samba-Panza 2020 campaign logo.jpg
Samba-Panza stayed in Bangui after leaving office,{{Cite web |title=Que sont-ils devenus ? Salou Djibo, Hédi Jilani et Catherine Samba-Panza |url=https://www.jeuneafrique.com/mag/522514/politique/que-sont-ils-devenus-salou-djibo-hedi-jilani-et-catherine-samba-panza/ |access-date=2024-03-03 |website=JeuneAfrique.com |language=fr-FR}} and she remained involved with the government as an advisor in areas such as peace mediation. She became an election observer with the Carter Center, overseeing elections in countries such as Liberia, Senegal,{{Cite news |title=UA: Samba Panza, chef de la mission au Sénégal |url=https://www.bbc.com/afrique/region-40727837 |access-date=2024-03-03 |work=BBC News Afrique |language=fr}} and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.{{Cite web |last= |date=22 December 2023 |title=DR Congo: "voting operations had gone relatively well"- observer mission says |url=https://www.africanews.com/2023/12/22/dr-congo-voting-operations-had-gone-relatively-well-observer-mission-says/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240120132552/https://www.africanews.com/2023/12/22/dr-congo-voting-operations-had-gone-relatively-well-observer-mission-says// |archive-date=20 January 2024 |access-date=2024-03-03 |website=Africanews}} She also took on leadership roles in intergovernmental organizations after she left office, becoming president of the Pan African Women's Leadership Observatory and co-chair of the African Union Network for Conflict Prevention and Mediation.{{Cite web |title=Catherine Samba-Panza |url=https://www.policycenter.ma/index.php/expertexterne/catherine-samba-panza |access-date=2024-03-03 |website=Policy Center for the New South}}
On 28 August, Samba-Panza announced that she would be running in the 2020 presidential election.{{Cite journal |date=2020 |title=Central African Republic – Poll Campaigns Begin |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-825X.2020.09606.x |journal=Africa Research Bulletin: Political, Social and Cultural Series |language=en |volume=57 |issue=8 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-825X.2020.09606.x |s2cid=241987266 |issn=0001-9844 |access-date=8 October 2023 |archive-date=23 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231023235303/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-825X.2020.09606.x |url-status=live }} She justified her campaign by saying that "many appealed from all sides of the political spectrum" for her to run, and she touted her willingness to step down in 2016 as a reason to trust her.{{Cite news |date=28 January 2014 |title=Former Central African Republic interim leader to run in December poll |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-centralafrica-vote-sambapanza-idUSKBN25O2MB |access-date=22 January 2021 |archive-date=25 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225204446/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-centralafrica-vote-sambapanza-idUSKBN25O2MB |url-status=live }} Samba-Panza campaigned on security and economic development, saying that her successor failed to bring these things about. She was the only woman to run in the election.{{Cite web |last=AfricaPresse.Paris |date=2024-03-03 |title=Catherine SAMBA PANZA, seule femme candidate à la présidentielle en Centrafrique : « La politique est d'abord une activité altruiste, un sacerdoce. Je veux gouverner pour servir mes concitoyens » |url=https://www.africapresse.paris/Catherine-SAMBA-PANZA-seule-femme-candidate-a-la-presidentielle-en-Centrafrique |access-date=2024-03-03 |website=AfricaPresse.Paris |language=fr}} Samba-Panza was unsuccessful, receiving 5,526 votes, only 0.86% of the total votes cast.{{Cite web |date=2021-01-19 |title=Centrafrique – La décision de la Cour constitutionnelle proclamant les résultats définitifs de l'élection présidentielle de déc 2020 |url=https://jfaki.blog/archives/10111 |access-date=2024-03-05 |website=Akandji K. |language=fr-FR}}
Samba-Panza was one of several political opposition figures who were barred from leaving the country in January 2021. She was not given an explanation at the time, but the government later stated that there were ongoing investigations into opposition leaders for alleged involvement with armed groups.{{Cite web |title=Central African Republic Events of 2021 |url=https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2022/country-chapters/central-african-republic |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220113120627/https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2022/country-chapters/central-african-republic |archive-date=13 January 2022 |access-date=3 March 2024 |website=Human Rights Watch|date=22 December 2021 }}{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=17 January 2021 |title=Centrafrique : l'ex-présidente Samba-Panza interdite de quitter le pays |url=https://www.alwihdainfo.com/Centrafrique-l-ex-presidente-Samba-Panza-interdite-de-quitter-le-pays_a99753.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230401041907/https://www.alwihdainfo.com/Centrafrique-l-ex-presidente-Samba-Panza-interdite-de-quitter-le-pays_a99753.html |archive-date=1 April 2023 |access-date=2024-03-03 |website=Alwihda Info |language=fr}}
See also
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
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{{Wikiquote}}
- [https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/video/2016/03/30/interview-with-catherine-samba-panza-interim-president-of-the-central-african-republic Interview with Catherine Samba-Panza, Interim President of the Central African Republic by The World bank]
- [http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/interview-with-central-african-republic-president-samba-panza-a-955403.html Interview with President Catherine Samba-Panza] by Der Spiegel
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