Barthélemy Boganda was a leading nationalist politician and the driving force in the creation of the Central African Republic in 1958.
Before his political career, Boganda had become the first African Roman Catholic priest in Ubangi-Shari, a French colony that is now part of the CAR. He became involved in politics and in 1946 he was elected to the French National Assembly, becoming the first representative of the CAR in the French government.
His strident anticolonial views led to him becoming disillusioned with the French political system and leaving the priesthood in 1949; and forming his own political party, the Social Evolution Movement of Black Africa.
Hugely popular, Boganda became the president of the Grand Council of French Equatorial Africa (which also included Chad, Gabon, and the French Congo) in 1957. His vision was for a pan-African movement to unite several African states.
Boganda became the first prime minister of the Central African Republic on 1 December 1958.
Barthélemy Boganda designed his country’s flag using the Pan-African colours and the colours of the French flag.
Boganda’s rule proved to be short-lived; he died in a plane crash on March 29th 1959 under suspicious circumstances and did not live to see his country gain full independence from France in August 1960, with his cousin David Dako becoming the country’s first President.