Cameroon
 

14 Jul 1884 - 26 Sep 1914	1913 (proposed colonial flag)	26 Sep 1914 - 1 Jan 1959
1 Jan 1959 - 1 Oct 1961	1 Oct 1961 - 20 May 1975	Adopted 20 May 1975

Map of Cameroon Hear National Anthem  "Chant de Ralliement"  (The Rallying Song)  Text of National Anthem Anthem Adopted 1957 (unofficial from 1948) Constitution (20 May 1972) Capital: Yaoundé (1940-1946 Douala; Yaoundé 1922-1940; Douala 1916-1922) Currency:  Communauté Financière Africaine Franc (XAF) National Holiday: 20 May (1972) Republic Day (National Day) Population: 18,060,382 (2007) GDP: $42.2 billion (2006) Exports: $4.31 billion (2006) Imports: $3.08 billion (2006) Ethnic groups: Fang 19.6%; Bamileke and Bamum 18.5%; Duala, Luanda and Basa 14.7%; Fulani 9.6%; Tikar 7.4%; Mandara 5.7%; Maka 4.9%; Chamba 2.4%; Mbum 1.3%; Hausa 1.2%; Fench 0.2%, other 14.5% (1983) Total Armed Forces: 14,100 (2003) Merchant marine: 1 ship (2006) Religions: Traditional beliefs 31.7%,Roman Catholic 26.4%, Muslim 21.2%, Protestant 20.7% (2000)  International Organizations/Treaties: ACP, AfDB, APM, AU, BDEAC, C, CEEAC, CEMAC, CTBT, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (applicant), ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISESCO, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, KP, MIGA, NAM, NPT, OIC, OIF, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCLOS, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFCC, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU,  WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,  WTO Cameroon Index Chronology 1858 - 28 Mar 1887         British colony at Ambas Bay (Victoria). 14 Jul 1884                German protectorate. 15 Jun 1896                German crown land of North-West Africa.  1 Jan 1901                Renamed Kamerun.  4 Nov 1911 -  4 Mar 1916  Augmented by a cession of 270,000 sq. km. ceded by                              France from French Equatorial Africa (new regions                              are named Neu Kamerun-Ost and Neu Kamerun-Süd). 26 Sep 1914                French and British occupation begins.  4 Mar 1916                German surrender. 28 Jun 1919                Division into French Cameroun                              and British Cameroons; the latter                              administered from Nigeria 23 Mar 1921                French Cameroun given autonomy. 20 Jul 1922                British Cameroons and French Cameroun League of                              Nations Mandates. 13 Dec 1946                British and French United Nations Trust                               Territories. 16 Jun 1940 - 28 Aug 1940  French Cameroun administration loyal to Vichy                               France (from 28 Aug 1940, under Free French).  1 Oct 1954                British Cameroons an autonomous part of Nigeria.  1 Jan 1960                French Cameroun independent as Republic of                               Cameroun.  1 Oct 1961                Federal Republic of Cameroon after unification                               with southern part of British Cameroons                              (northern part united with Nigeria 1 Jun 1961);                              (the Federal Republic of Cameroun consisted                               of two parts, East Cameroun [Francophone]                               and West Cameroon [Anglophone]).  2 Jun 1972                United Republic of Cameroon  4 Feb 1984                Republic of Cameroon Cameroon (since 1960) Traditional States German Kamerun (1884-1916)  Ambas Bay (1858-1887)  British Cameroons (1914-1961) French Cameroun (1914-1960)  Historical Maps of Cameroon

German Kamerun
 

Map of German Kamerun

Capital: Buea (1884-1914), Douala (1914-1922)

Population: 2,600,000 (1912) (1,900 Europeans)

Reichskommissare (Commissioners)
14 Jul 1884 - 19 Jul 1884  Gustav Nachtigal                   (b. 1834 - d. 1885)
19 Jul 1884 -  1 Apr 1885  Maximilian Buchner (acting)        (b. 1846 - d. 1921)
 1 Apr 1885 -  4 Jul 1885  Eduard von Knorr (acting)          (b. 1840 - d. 1920)
Governors
 4 Jul 1885 - 14 Feb 1891  Julius Freiherr von Soden          (b. 1846 - d. 1921)
13 May 1887 -  4 Oct 1887  Jesco von Puttkamer (1st time)     (b. 1855 - d. 1917)
                             (acting for Soden)
 4 Oct 1887 - 17 Jan 1888  Eugen von Zimmerer (1st time)      (b. 1843 - d. 1918)
                             (acting for Soden)
26 Dec 1889 - 17 Apr 1890  Eugen von Zimmerer (2nd time)      (s.a.)
                             (acting for Soden)
17 Apr 1890 -  3 Aug 1890  Markus Graf Pfeil
                             (acting for Soden)
 3 Aug 1890 - 14 Aug 1890  Kurz (acting for Soden)
14 Aug 1890 -  2 Dec 1890  Jesco von Puttkamer (2nd time)     (s.a.) 
                             (acting for Soden)
 2 Dec 1890 - 15 Apr 1891  Leist (1st time) 
                             (acting [for Soden to 14 Feb 1891])
15 Apr 1891 - 13 Aug 1895  Eugen von Zimmerer                 (s.a.)
 7 Aug 1891 -  5 Jan 1892  Bruno von Schuckmann 
                            (acting for Zimmerer)
27 Jun 1893 - 24 Feb 1894  Leist (2nd time)
                             (acting for Zimmerer)
31 Dec 1894 - 27 Mar 1895  Jesco von Puttkamer (3rd time)     (s.a.)
                             (acting for Zimmerer)
28 Mar 1895 -  4 May 1895  von Lücke (acting for Zimmerer)
13 Aug 1895 -  9 May 1907  Jesco von Puttkamer                (s.a.)
27 Oct 1895 - 10 Sep 1897  Theodor Seitz (1st time)           (b. 1863 - d. 1949)
                             (acting for Puttkamer) 
12 Jan 1898 - 13 Oct 1898  Theodor Seitz (2nd time)           (s.a.)
                             (acting for Puttkamer) 
17 Jan 1900 - 31 Jul 1900  August Köhler 
                             (acting for Puttkamer) 
 1 Aug 1900 -  6 Sep 1900  Diehl (acting for Puttkamer) 
 6 Sep 1900 - 15 Nov 1900  von Kamptz (acting for Puttkamer) 
 3 Feb 1902 -  3 Oct 1902  Plehn (acting for Puttkamer) 
 9 May 1904 -  8 Nov 1904  Karl Ebermaier                     (b. 1862 - d. 1943)
                             (acting for Puttkamer) 
 9 Nov 1904 - 31 Jan 1905  Otto Gleim (1st time)              (b. 1836 - d. 1929)
                             (acting for Puttkamer) 
Jan 1906 - Nov 1906        Oberst Müller 
                             (acting for Puttkamer) 
Nov 1906 -  9 May 1907     Otto Gleim (2nd time)              (s.a.)
                             (acting for Puttkamer) 
 9 May 1907 - 27 Aug 1910  Theodor Seitz                      (s.a.)
10 Feb 1909 - Oct 1909     Hansen (1st time)(acting for Seitz)
28 Aug 1910 - 29 Jan 1912  Otto Gleim                         (s.a.)
Aug 1910 - Sep 1910        Steinhausen (acting for Gleim)
Sep 1910 - 25 Oct 1910     Hansen (1st time)(acting for Gleim)
Oct 1911 - 29 Jan 1912     Hansen (2nd time)(acting for Gleim)
29 Jan 1912 -  4 Mar 1916  Karl Ebermaier                     (s.a.)
 9 Oct 1913 - 1914         Full (acting for Ebermaier)

 

Capital: Victoria

Population: N/A

1858                       Victoria colony founded by English Baptist Missionary Society.
19 Jul 1884                British Ambas Bay Protectorate.
28 Mar 1887                Ambas Bay ceded to Germany by U.K., part of German Kamerun.

Administrators
1858 - 1876                Alfred Saker                (b. 1814 - d. 1880)
1877 - 1878                George Grenfell             (b. 1849 - d. 1906)
1878 - 1879                Q.W. Thomson
1879 - Jul 1884            ....
Jul 1884 - 21 Apr 1885     Edward H. Hewitt 
21 Apr 1885 - 28 Mar 1887  ....

 

Headquarters: Buea

Population: 817,616 (1938)

26 Sep 1914                French and British occupation of German Kamerun.
28 Jun 1919                Formal division into French and British Cameroons.
20 Jul 1920                British Cameroons a League of Nations mandate.
13 Dec 1946                British Cameroons United Nations trust territory.
1949                       Southern Cameroons divided into two provinces: Bamenda (capital 
                             Bamenda) and Southern (capital Buea). 
Oct 1954                   British Cameroons an autonomous part of Nigeria.
 1 Oct 1961                Southern British Camroons incorporated into Republic of
                             Cameroon, northern part unites with Nigeria in 1 Jun 1961.

Military Administrators
26 Aug 1914 - 28 Jun 1919  Administrators of French Cameroun
British Residents
1916                       Kenneth V. Elphinstone           (b. 1878 - d. 1963)
1916 - 1917                E.C. Duff
1917 - 1919                P.V. Young
1919                       W.G. Ambrose 
1919                       John C. Maxwell                  (b. 1875 - d. 1946)
1919 - 1925                John Humphrey Davidson           (b. 1876 - d. 1954)
1925                       William Edgar Hunt               (b. 1883 - d. 1969)
                             (district officer)
1925 - 1928                Edward John Arnett (1st time)    (d. 1940)
1928                       H.J. Aveling (acting)
1928                       Buchanan Smith
1928 - 1929                Edward John Arnett (2nd time)    (s.a.)
1929 - 1932                Granville St.John Orde Brown     (b. 1883 - d. 1947)
                             (senior officer)
1932 - 193.                Frederick Bernard Carr           (b. 1893 - d. 1981)
                             (district officer)
193.                       John Wynne Corrie Rutherford     (b. 1888 - d. 19..)
193.                       D.W. Firth (senior resident)
193.                       George Hugo Findlay              (b. 1888 - d. 1966)
                             (senior resident)
c.1935                     Karl Vernon Hanitsch             (b. 1893)
                             (deputy resident)
193. - 1939                Arthur Evelyn Francis Murray     (b. 1888 - d. 19..)
1939 - 1942                Norman Croft Denton              (b. 1894) 
1942 - 194.                Sealy-King
194.                       Percy Graham Harris              (b. 1894)
1943 - 1945                James Macrae Simpson             (b. 1906)
20 Mar 1945 - 10 Oct 1945  Alfred Leeming                   (b. 1894)
                             (senior district officer)
1945 - 1946                A.F.B. Bridges
14 Feb 1946 -  4 Aug 1949  Neil Mackenzie                   (b. 1905)
                             (senior district officer)
25 Aug 1949 - 31 Dec 1949  D.A.F. Shute (senior resident)   (b. 1899)
Special Resident
1949 -  1 Oct 1954         Edward John Gibbons              (b. 1906 - d. 1990)
Commissioners
 1 Oct 1954 - 1956         Edward John Gibbons              (s.a.)
1956 -  1 Oct 1961         John Osbaldiston Field           (b. 1913 - d. 1985)

Premiers
 1 Oct 1954 -  1 Feb 1959  Emmanuel Mbela Lifate Endeley    (b. 1916 - d. 1988)  KNC
 1 Feb 1959 -  1 Oct 1961  John Ngu Foncha                  (b. 1916 - d. 1999)  KDNP 

French Military Commander
26 Sep 1914 -  7 Apr 1916  Joseph Gauderique Aymerich         (b. 1858 - d. 1937)
Administrators
 7 Apr 1916 -  8 Oct 1916  Joseph Gauderique Aymerich         (s.a.)
 8 Oct 1916 -  6 Mar 1919  Lucien Louis Fourneau              (b. 1867 - d. 1930)
Commissioners
 6 Mar 1919 - Mar 1923     Jules Gaston Henri Carde           (b. 1874 - d. 1949)
                             (acting to 7 Dec 1919)
Sep 1920 - Jun 1921        Auguste François Bonnecarrère      (b. 1875 - d. 1966)
                             (acting for Carde)
Mar 1923 - 29 Apr 1923     Albéric Auguste Fournier (acting)
29 Apr 1923 - 31 Aug 1932  Théodore Paul Marchand (1st time)
27 Dec 1924 - 11 May 1925  Ernest Bleu (1st time)
                             (acting for Marchand) 
 2 Mar 1926 - 31 Oct 1926  Ernest Bleu (2nd time)
                             (acting for Marchand)
26 Apr 1929 - 26 Oct 1929  Ernest Bleu (3rd time)
                             (acting for Marchand)
19 Jun 1931 -  6 Feb 1932  Ernest Bleu (4th time)
                             (acting for Marchand)
31 Aug 1932 -  7 Jul 1934  Paul Auguste François Bonnecarrère (s.a.)
                             (acting to 22 Sep 1932)
 7 Jul 1934 - 1936         Jules Vincent Repiquet             (b. 1874 - d. 1960)
1936 - Jan 1937            Gaston Camille Guibet (acting)     (b. 1881 - d. 1973)
Jan 1937 - 16 Nov 1938     Pierre François Boisson            (b. 1894 - d. 1948)
 7 Oct 1937 -  9 Mar 1938  Pierre Aubert (acting for Boisson)
16 Nov 1938 - 27 Aug 1940  Richard Edmond Maurice Édouard     (b. 1883 - d. 1958)
                             Brunot
Governors
27 Aug 1940 - 20 Nov 1940  Jacques Philippe Leclerc de        (b. 1902 - d. 1947)
                             Hauteclocque
20 Nov 1940 - 20 Jul 1943  Pierre Charles Albert Cournarie    (b. 1895 - d. 1968)
20 Jul 1943 - 15 Nov 1944  Hubert Eugène Paul Carras          (b. 1909 - d. 1961) 
15 Nov 1944 - 16 Jan 1946  Henri Pierre Nicolas               (b. 1896 - d. 1986)
16 Jan 1946 - 16 Mar 1946  Adrien Émile Amédée Léger (acting) (b. 1899 - d. 1948)
High commissioners
16 Mar 1946 - 25 Mar 1947  Robert Delavignette                (b. 1897 - d. 1976)
25 Mar 1947 - Apr 1947     Robert Casimir (1st time)(acting)
Apr 1947 -  7 Jul 1949     René Hoffherr                      (b. 1893 - d. 1982)
 7 Jul 1949 - 10 Jan 1950  Robert Casimir (2nd time)(acting)
10 Jan 1950 -  2 Dec 1954  Jean Louis Marie André Soucadoux   (b. 1904 - d. 2001)
 2 Dec 1954 - 17 Apr 1956  Roland Joanes Louis Pré            (b. 1907 - d. 1980)
17 Apr 1956 - 29 Jan 1958  Pierre Messmer                     (b. 1916 - d. 2007)
29 Jan 1958 - 19 Feb 1958  Jean Paul Ramadier                 (b. 1913 - d. 1968)
19 Feb 1958 -  1 Jan 1960  Xavier Antoine Torré               (b. 1910 - d. 2003) 

Prime ministers
16 May 1957 - 18 Feb 1958  André-Marie Mbida                  (b. 1917 - d. 1980)  CD
18 Feb 1958 -  1 Jan 1960  Ahmadou Babatoura Ahidjo           (b. 1924 - d. 1989)  UC

Cameroon

Head of state
 1 Jan 1960 -  5 May 1960  Ahmadou Babatoura Ahidjo           (b. 1924 - d. 1989)  UC
Presidents
 5 May 1960 -  6 Nov 1982  Ahmadou Babatoura Ahidjo           (s.a.)              UC;1966 UNC
 6 Nov 1982 -              Paul Biya                          (b. 1933)          UNC;1985 RDPC
 6 Apr 1984 -  7 Apr 1984  Issa Adoum (in rebellion)          (d. 1984)
 

Prime ministers
 1 Jan 1960 -  5 May 1960  Ahmadou Babatoura Ahidjo           (s.a.)               UC
15 May 1960 -  1 Oct 1961  Charles Assalé                     (b. 1911 - d. 1999)  UC
Prime ministers of East Cameroon
 1 Oct 1961 - 19 Jun 1965  Charles Assalé                     (s.a.)               UC
19 Jun 1965 - 20 Nov 1965  Vincent de Paul Ahanda             (b. 1918)            UC
20 Nov 1965 -  2 Jun 1972  Simon Pierre Tchoungui             (b. 1916 - d. 1997)  UC;1966 UNC
Prime ministers of West Cameroon
 1 Oct 1961 - 13 May 1965  John Ngu Foncha                    (s.a.)               KNDP
13 May 1965 - 11 Jan 1968  Augustine Ngom Jua                 (b. 1929 - d. 1977)KNDP;1966 UNC
11 Jan 1968 -  2 Jun 1972  Salomon Tandeng Muna               (b. 1912 - d. 2002)  UNC
Prime ministers
30 Jun 1975 -  6 Nov 1982  Paul Biya                          (s.a.)               UNC 
 6 Nov 1982 - 22 Aug 1983  Bello Bouba Maigari                (b. 1947)            UNC 
22 Aug 1983 - 25 Jan 1984  Luc Ayang                          (b. 1947)            UNC 
25 Jan 1984 - 26 Apr 1991  Post abolished
26 Apr 1991 -  9 Apr 1992  Sadou Hayatou                      (b. 1942)            RDPC
 9 Apr 1992 - 19 Sep 1996  Simon Achidi Achu                  (b. 1934)            RDPC 
19 Sep 1996 -  8 Dec 2004  Peter Mafany Musonge               (b. 1942)            RDPC 
 8 Dec 2004 -              Ephraïm Inoni                      (b. 1947)            RDPC 

Territorial Disputes: ICJ ruled in 2002 on the entire Cameroon-Nigeria land and maritime boundary but the parties formed a Joint Border Commission, which continues to meet regularly to resolve differences bilaterally and have commenced with demarcation in less-contested sections of the boundary, starting in Lake Chad in the north; implementation of the ICJ ruling on the Cameroon-Equatorial Guinea-Nigeria maritime boundary in the Gulf of Guinea is impeded by imprecisely defined coordinates and a sovereignty dispute between Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon over an island at the mouth of the Ntem River; Nigeria initially rejected cession of the Bakassi Peninsula, then agreed, and finally ceded it to Cameroon on 14 Aug 2008; only Nigeria and Cameroon have heeded the Lake Chad Commission's admonition to ratify the delimitation treaty which also includes the Chad-Niger and Niger-Nigeria boundaries.

Party abbreviations: RDPC = Rassemblement Démocratique du Peuple Camerounais/Cameroonian
People's Democratic Movement (conservative, only legal party 1985-1990, former UNC); 
- Former parties: CD = Cameroon Democrats; KNC = Kamerun National Convention; KNDP = Kamerun National Democratic Party (British Cameroon-based, 1966 part of UNC); UC = Union du Camerounais (Cameroon Union, French Cameroon-based, 1966 part of UNC); UNC = Union National du Camerounais/Cameroonian National Union (only legal party 1966-1984, renamed 1985 RDPC)