Angèle Patassé

Angèle Essotina Patassé (c. 1955 – December 3, 2007) was a Togolese-born public figure who became First Lady of the Central African Republic from 1993 to 2003 as the wife of former President Ange-Félix Patassé.

Biography Patassé, a member of the Kabye people, was born Angèle Essotina. She was raised in the town of Kouméa, Kozah Prefecture, in the Kara Region of northern Togo.

In 1992, Ange-Félix Patassé returned to the Central African Republic from exile. A year later, he was elected president in the 1993 presidential election, an office he held from 1993 until his overthrow in 2003. Angèle Patassé, as his wife, became First Lady of the Central African Republic during his tenure.

In March 2003, First Lady Angèle Patassé accompanied her husband and a Central African government delegation to a regional summit in Niamey, Niger. While returning from Niger, President Ange-Félix Patassé was overthrown by General François Bozizé on March 15, 2003.

Angèle Patassé was buried in Lomé, Togo, on December 22, 2007, following a funeral at the Lomé villa were the former president and first lady had lived in exile since 2003.