He was an army commander when he deposed his predecessor, David Dacko in 1981. His rule saw the return of self-declared Emperor Jean-Bedel Bokassa to the Central African Republic, and his sentence to life imprisonment.
In 1992 he allowed multi-party elections and lost them, but ignored the result. In 1993 he lost fresh elections to Ange-Felix Patasse, and this time let the result stand. Before he stood down, he released thousands of prisoners, including Bokassa.
In 2001 he attempted to organised a new coup against François Bozizé, the then president, but this failed. In 2003 he apologised to a reconcilation forum for incorrect actions he made during his rule.