CAMEROON
Keys events
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CAMEROONKeys events
|
|
1960 (1 January) |
Proclamation
of independence of the Republic of Cameroon. |
1960 (21
February) |
Constitutional
referendum. |
1960 (5 May) |
Election
of Ahmadou Ahidjo as President of the Republic. Charles Assalé is appointed Prime
Minister, Louis Kémayou Happi Speaker of the Assembly. |
1960 (20
September) |
Joins UN. |
1961 (11/12 Feb.) |
Plebiscite.
The north of British Cameroon joins the Federation of Nigeria while the south opts for the
State of Cameroon, the two thus constituting a federation. |
1961 (14 August) |
Federal
Constitution adopted. Ahmadou Ahidjo President, John Ngu Foncha (Southern
Cameroon) Vice-President. |
1965 (23 March) |
Re-election
of Ahmadou Ahidjo as President and John Ngu
Foncha as Vice-President.
|
1965 (13 May) |
Resignation of John Ngu Foncha from the post of Prime Minister of the Federal
State of Western Cameroon. Replaced by Augustin Ngomjua. |
1965 (18 June) |
Mr
Ahanada becomesq ¨Prime Minister of Eastern Cameroon, replacing Mr Assalé. |
1965 (November) |
Dr Simon
Tchoungui becomes Prime Minister of Eastern Cameroon. |
1966 (1
September) |
Creation
of the Union Nationale Camerounaise (UNC) grouping together the opposition parties
(except the Union des Populations du Cameroun, UPC) and the dominant formations in
each of the States: President Ahidjo’s Union Camerounaise and the Kameroun
National Democratic Party (KNDP) of Vice President Foncha. |
1967 (31
December) |
Mr Muna
appointed Prime Minister of Western Cameroon. |
1970 (28 March) |
Presidential
election. Ahmadou Ahidjo remains in office. Mr Muna becomes Vice President and
remains Prime Minister. |
1972 (20 May) |
Referendum
on becoming a unitary State (99.97% yes). |
1973 (18 May) |
Elections
to the National assembly. |
1973 (1 July) |
Withdrawal
from the Organisation Commune Africaine, Malgache et Mauricienne (OCAM). |
1973 (December) |
Student
strike. |
1975 (5 April) |
Re-election
of Ahmadou Ahidjo as President of the Republic. |
1975 (30 June) |
Paul Biya appointed to the new post of Prime Minister. |
1976 (July) |
General
strike called by the UPC. Many arrests. |
1978 (28 May) |
General
elections. |
1980 (5 April) |
Ahmadou
Ahidjo re-elected. |
1982 (4 November) |
Resignation
of Ahmadou Ahidjo. |
1982 (6 November) |
Paul
Biya becomes President of the Republic. Bello Bouba
Maïgari appointed Prime Minister. |
1983 (29 May) |
General
elections. |
1983 (22 August) |
Discovery
of a plot. |
1983 (23 August) |
Luc
Ayang becomes Prime Minister. |
1983 (27 August) |
Ahmadou
Ahidjo resigns from the presidency of the UNC. |
1983 (14
September) |
Paul
Biya elected President of the UNC. |
1984 (14 January) |
Paul
Biya elected President of the Republic. |
1984 (25 January) |
Post of Prime Minister abolished. |
1984 (28
February) |
Ahmadou
Ahidjo sentenced to death in absentia. Accused of plotting against the security of the
State. |
1984 (6 April) |
Failure
of a coup d’état by Colonel Saleh Ibrahim. |
1985 (21/24
March) |
The UNC
becomes the Democratic Rally of the People of Cameroon (Rassemblement Démocratique du
Peuple Camerounais – RDPC). |
1988 (24 April) |
Paul
Biya re-elected. |
1990 (5 December) |
Law
creating a multi-party system. |
1992 (1 March) |
Pluralist
general elections: 88 seats for the RDPC, 68 for the opposition party, the National Union
for Democracy and Progress (Union Nationale pour la Démocratie et le Progrès -
UNDP). |
1992 (9 April) |
Simon
Achidi Achu appointed Prime Minister. |
1992 (11 October) |
Paul
Biya re-elected President (39.9%) in front
of John Fru Ndi (35.9%), the candidate of the Social Democratic Front (SDF). The results
are contested. Demonstrations and incidents in the region of Bamenda. |
1992 (Oct.-Dec.) |
State of
emergency in the region of Bamenda. |
1994 (January) |
Inter-ethnic
conflict between Kotokos and Choa Arabs in the north of the country. |
1994 (January) |
Border
conflict with Nigeria. |
1995 (December) |
The
National Assembly debates the reform of the Constitution, adopted by a wide majority.
Creation of a semi-presidential system and a two-chamber Parliament with a Senate in which
30% of the members will be appointed. |
1996 (18 January) |
Promulgation
of Constitutional Law n° 96/01 revising the Constitution. |
1996 (21 January) |
First
pluralist municipal elections. Wide victory of the RDPC winning 65% of the communes. |
1996 (10
February) |
March of
the Sawa in Douala to protest against the marginalisation of natives in the designation of
the arrondissement mayors by the SDF in the abovementioned town. |
1996 (27
February) |
A
Presidential decree transforms about ten of the largest cities into “special regime
communes”. Most of them had been won by the opposition who denounced this measure as
contrary to the Constitution. |
1996 (May) |
Wave of
strikes launched by the opposition. |
1996 (August) |
Peter
Mafany Musonge is appointed Prime Minister to replace Simon Achidi Achu. |
1997 (20 April) |
Titus
Edzoa, former Secretary General of the Presidency of the Republic and Health Minister,
resigns from the government and announces that he will be a candidate for the Presidential
election in October. |
1997 (17 May) |
General
elections. The RDPC wins a wide majority, with 116 seats out of 180. |
1997 (3 August) |
By-elections:
the RDPC wins the 7 vacant seats. |
1997 (12 October) |
Presidential
election boycotted by the SDF, UNDP and UDC. Easy victory of Paul Biya (92.54%). |
1997 (November) |
Opening
of discussions between the RDPC and the SDF about the creation of a more peaceful
democracy in Cameroon. They are broken off a few months later. |
1997 (7 December) |
Formation
of a government open to the UNDP and the UPC-N. |
1998 (14 February
|
Catastrophe
of Nsam-Efoulan. Officially, over 200 people burnt to death. |
1998 (20 March) |
Brutal
death of the Archbishop of Yaoundé, Mgr Jean Zoa. |
1998 (11 June) |
The
Court of the Hague gives its decision on the preliminary phase of the affair opposing
Cameroon/Nigeria. The Court declares itself competent to judge the dispute. |
2000 (6/7
December) |
Adoption
of the draft laws proposed by Paul Biya on the financing of parties and the creation of a
national election observatory (Observatoire National des Elections - ONEL),
strongly contested by the opposition. |
2000 (8 December) |
Municipal
elections of January 2001 postponed by one year. |
|
Up-date
currently underway. |
Sources used |
Afrique contemporaine, quarterly
review (La Documentation Française) AFP
Afrique: daily news bulletin from Africa –Agence France Presse Press
Files from the CEAN Document Centre. |
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