Emperor of Central Africa (French: Empereur de Centrafrique) was the title used by Jean-Bédel Bokassa from 4 December 1976, who was crowned on 4 December 1977 in a lavish ceremony that was estimated to cost the Central African Empire US$20 million (equivalent to $89 million in 2021). Although nominally a constitutional monarch, in practice Bokassa ruled with absolute power. For all intents and purposes, the country was still a military dictatorship, as had been the case with the Central African Republic since Bokassa took power in the 1966 coup d'état.