David Dacko

Dacko, David (dävēd' däkō'), 1930-2003, president of the Central African Republic (1960-66, 1979-81). A leader in the independence movement in French Equatorial Africa, he became the first president of the newly independent Central African Republic. He was toppled from power in 1966 by Jean-Bédel Bokassa but reinstated in a French-supported coup in 1979. Reelected president, he was overthrown by a military junta in 1981.