From 4 December 1976 to 21 September 1979, the Central African Republic was officially known as the Central African Empire (French: Empire centrafricain), after military dictator (and president at the time) Marshal Jean-Bdel Bokassa declared himself Emperor of Central Africa, and the republic an empire.

Bokassa spent the equivalent of over US$20 million, a third of the country's government annual income, on his coronation ceremony. The monarchy was abolished (the most recent one ruled by an emperor) and the republic was restored on 21 September 1979, when Bokassa was overthrown and replaced with David Dacko, with French support.

Bokassa leads here. For other uses, see Bokassa (disambiguation)Jean-Bédel Bokassa ([ʒɑ̃ bedɛl bɔkasa]; 22 February 1921 – 3 November 1996), also known as Bokassa I, was a Central African political and military leader who served as the second president of the Central African Republic and as the emperor of its successor state, the Central African Empire, from his Saint-Sylvestre coup d'état on 1 January 1966 until overthrown in a subsequent coup in 1979.

Of this period, he served about 11 years as president and three years as self-proclaimed Emperor of Central Africa, though the country was still a de facto military dictatorship. His imperial regime lasted from 4 December 1976 to 21 September 1979. Following his overthrow, the CAR was restored under his predecessor, David Dacko. Bokassa's self-proclaimed imperial title did not achieve international diplomatic recognition.

In his trial in absentia, he was tried and sentenced to death. He returned to the Central African Republic in 1986 and was put on trial for treason and murder. In 1987, he was cleared of charges of cannibalism, but found guilty of the murder of schoolchildren and other crimes. The death sentence was later commuted to life in solitary confinement, but he was freed in 1993. He lived a private life in Bangui, and died in November 1996.