Jean-Baptiste Bokam

Born in Bagbeze I [fr] on 10 October 1951,^[2] Bokam attended primary school in Esseng I [fr] and secondary school in Doumé. He graduated from the University of Yaoundé in 1976 with a degree in economic sciences.^[3]

In 1976, Bokam was recruited by the National Social Insurance Fund [fr] as an executive assistant. He entered the Cameroonian government in 1988, having been appointed Minister of Labor and Social Welfare, a position he held from 1988 to 1992. He was then Minister of Public Works from 9 April 1992 to 7 December 1997 before he was succeeded by Jérôme Obi Eta.^[3] In 2011, he was appointed Secretary of State for Veterans and War Victims.^[4][5] In 2015, he was appointed Secretary of State for the National Gendarmerie.^[6] In 2018, he was replaced by Gallas Yves Landry Etoga.^[7]

Bokam also became President of the Banque internationale du Cameroun pour l'épargne et le crédit [fr] in 1990.^[8] An activist for the RDPC, he helped manage national elections.^[9]

Jean-Baptiste Bokam died following a long illness at the University Teaching Hospital of Yaounde, on 16 January 2024, at the age of 72.^[10]