Georges Darlan

Biography

Early life (1920–1950) Georges Darlan was born in 1920 in Kouango (Ouaka) in Ubangi-Shari. Officially, his date of birth was January 5, although it is impossible to authenticate that date because, although born of a European father and a Ubangi mother, Georges Darlan was never entered in the civil register of Kouango, which was exclusively used for European citizens. Indeed, like many of mixed race in the colonies, it seems that Darlan's father refused to recognize him or his older brother Antoine Darlan and abandoned them and their African mother.

Thanks to his European ancestry, Georges Darlan was enrolled in school, which was a privilege because during the interwar period the enrollment rate in Ubangi-Shari was 1.5%. His primary education allowed him to join the new institution for indigenous people in French Equatorial Africa, the École Edouard Renard in Brazzaville from 1935. He graduated in 1939 with a teacher's diploma. His assignment in Libreville, Gabon, led him to enlist in the Free French Forces in 1941, from which he was discharged in 1945 with the rank of Staff Sergeant. He returned the following year to Ubangi for a commercial career. On 19 October 1947 he was elected general counselor of French Equatorial Africa by his peers, along with his older brother Antoine Darlan.

In August 1947, he was appointed president of the first local political party, the Ubangi Union (UO) founded by Barthélémy Boganda. The UO was a success; its size increased continuously. Darlan used this organization to introduce cooperatives of cotton producers (COTONCOOP) and of consumers (SOCOOMA) in 1948. Soon a patronage system formed around Darlan and he became the strongman of Ubangi-Shari. His influence over local officials was encouraged by the colonial administration. In 1948, while the majority of indigenous advisers were moving toward the African Democratic Rally (RDA) under the influence of his very liberal brother Antoine Darlan, Georges Darlan, who was more liberal, exerted all his influence to prevent this movement to the left.

Ambitions and setbacks, the woes of COTONCOOP (1950–1951) Georges Darlan had ambitions of being elected as the deputy to the French National Assembly, in place of Barthélemy Boganda, with whom his relations had deteriorated. The break occurred in September 1948, when the Representative Council refused to grant a charter to Boganda's cooperative, SOCOULOLÉ, although it had granted one to COTONCOOP a few months earlier. Feeling a sense of betrayal, Boganda resigned from the UO one month later. The UO survived until 1950. In that year, the president of the Representative Council decided to refocus on COTONCOOP, a more flexible body

The COTONCOOP did not last very long. In July 1950, the Representative Council was surprised to discover that the collection of contributions is made almost mandatory in some areas "in the government's name". Strong criticism was levelled at its financial management. Of the thirty-two million CFA francs of subsidies granted by the Representative Council, twenty million were squandered; nine million in the purchase of real estate in Bangui, the rest in various construction projects, purchasing of plants, and management fees. In 1951, during the election campaign, the government took control of the company on account of the number of complaints. The reports sent to the Head of Planning and the Governor General of French Equatorial Africa went without appeal; all the company business operations had been performed in vain. But his controversial actions in his co-operatives and the fact that he had presided over a tax increase while president of the Representative Council were easily exploited by Boganda. Darlan was discredited by Boganda's campaign tactics. On 17 June, he came in third place with 8,288 votes, a mere 12.6% of the electorate.

Political failures and move to Congo (1952–1965) In 1952, Georges Darlan decided not to stand in the territorial elections.

In 1957, Georges Darlan reversed his attitude to the RDA and participated in the reformation of the Ubangi section. (the name of Ubangi-Shari after December 1958), instead of his brother Antoine Darlan. The RDA obtained 2.4% of the votes and no seats in these elections. Darlan fell out of favor with Houphouët-Boigny, who turned his attention to the leader of Congo-Brazzaville, Fulbert Youlou. Georges Darlan was ousted in favor of Kobozo, an unknown. The Dictionary of African Biography (2011) claims his death was due to a brain hemorrhage.