Emmanuel Touaboy has served as the Central African Republic’s Ambassador to the US since February 14, 2001. Born August 4, 1951, Touaboy earned a batchelor's degree in geography at the Uniersity of Abidjan in Ivory Coast and a doctorate in international relations at the Institute of International Relations in Cameroon. Although Touaboy worked for former CAR President Ange-Félix Patassé, he was also well-placed when Patassé was overthrown in 2003 by François Bozizé, and one of Touaboy’s younger brothers was a bodyguard for Bozizé. Early in his term in the US, Touaboy was a leading backer of the US oil firm Grynberg Petroleum. In March 2008, Touaboy joined the advisory board of the Jarch Management Group, which hopes to develop oil reserves in Southern Sudan. Touaboy will be leaving his post in Washington, D.C., in July to become the CAR's ambassador to China.