Danièle Darlan

Darlan's father Georges Darlan was the president of the Representative Council of Ubangi-Shari from 1949 to 1952.[1] She obtained a doctorate in law in France.[3]

Darlan was professor of public at the University of Bangui for thirty years,[1] in a country where there are very few women professors, and low numbers of girls completing higher education. She has said, "I feel like it is a personal failure. Maybe I inspired someone outside the university; maybe I was more an example for boys than girls."[3]

Darlan served as vice-president of the Constitutional Court from 2013, before being elected president in 2017. She is the first woman in the role.[3] In June 2020, she refused to give approval to revisions of the Constitution proposed by the National Assembly and supported by President Faustin-Archange Touadéra, which would have allowed him to stay in power and delay the electoral process.[1]

It was Darlan's role to declare the outcome of the controversial 2020–2021 election,[3] declaring Touadera's victory and rejecting a suit filed by 13 of the 16 other candidates arguing there had been "massive fraud".[4] She said the court had "not received any pressure, either from the president, or from the special representative of the UN secretary general, or from any embassy."[4][5]

• Darlan, Danièle (2018). L'évolution constitutionnelle et juridictionnelle de la République centrafricaine à travers les textes (in French). L'Harmattan. ISBN 9782140096358.
• Darlan, Danièle (2019). "Transitional elections in the Central African Republic, 2013– 2016". In Sead Alihodžić; Nicholas Matatu; Alexandre Raffoul (eds.). Timing and Sequencing of Transitional Elections: Case Studies (PDF). International IDEA. pp. 32–40.