Background
Dacko was born in the village of Bouchia, near Mbaiki in the Lobaye region, which was then a part of the French Equatorial African territory of Moyen Congo.
Dacko was born in the village of Bouchia, near Mbaiki in the Lobaye region, which was then a part of the French Equatorial African territory of Moyen Congo.
Dacko took part in an experimental educational program promoted by the French colonial administration. Dacko was named principal of Kouanga College in 1955 and became a supporter of independence leader Barthélémy Boganda, who was from the same Ngbaka ethnic group as Dacko. In March 1957 Dacko presented himself as a candidate for legislative elections in Ubangi-Shari for the circumscription of Ombella-M'Poko and won a seat as a member of the "Territorial Assembly of Ubangi-Shari". When the first Council of Government of Ubangi-Shari was established that same year, Boganda named Dacko Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Water and Forests, in which position he served from May 14, 1957 until August 23, 1958. Dacko then served as Minister of the Interior and Administrative Affairs from August 23 to December 8, 1958.
When the Territorial Assembly became the Legislative Constitutive Assembly on December 1, 1958, Dacko and his fellow Territorial Councilors became Deputies. Dacko remained in the government as the Minister of the Interior, Economy and Commerce (December 8, 1958 – April 30, 1959). During 1959, Dacko succeeded Boganda as the main leader of the country when Boganda died in a plane crash.
Then he became the first President of the Central African Republic, from August 14, 1960 to January 1, 1966, and the third president of the CAR from September 21, 1979 to September 1, 1981.
David Dacko was survived by his wife Brigitte, who bore seven sons and four daughters, including Bruno Dacko and Ruffin Molomadon.