Republic of Dahomey Republic of Dahomey The Republic of Dahomey ( ) was established on December 11, 1958, as a self-governing colony within the French Community. Prior to attaining autonomy it had been French Dahomey, part of the French Union. On August 1, 1960, it attained full independence from France. In 1975, the country was renamed Benin after the Bight of Benin (which was in turn named after the Benin Empire which had its seat of power in Benin City, modern-day Nigeria), since "Benin" was deemed politically neutral for all ethnic groups in the state, whereas "Dahomey" recalled the Fon-dominated Kingdom of Dahomey.
United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic in October 1993 following national elections; he was the first democratically elected president of the Central African Republic. He inherited a nearly bankrupt government and there was civil unrest by unpaid civil servants. Military officers were also unpaid, and some of them accused him of unequal treatment of officers from different ethnic groups. The disgruntled military officers attempted three coups in 1996. There was also widespread looting in Bangui and other provinces and the police created the Squad for the Repression of Banditry, which had the power to execute criminals the day after their apprehension. French troops who were present