Yaoundé – President Paul Biya has appointed his son, Franck Emmanuel Biya, as Vice President of Cameroon and Head of the Armed Forces, centralising authority amid ongoing unrest.
The appointments, formalised in an official decree dated 4 April 2026, also make Franck Biya Minister Delegate at the Ministry of Defence, placing him at the core of the country’s security structure. The decree states: “Mr Franck Emmanuel BIYA is appointed Vice President of the Republic of Cameroon” and “Head of the Armed Forces,” adding that the vice president “is also appointed Minister Delegate at the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Cameroon.”
The presidency said the appointments were made in line with constitutional provisions and defence laws, citing “service requirements,” and that the decree “shall be registered, published according to the procedure of urgency, and inserted in the Official Gazette.” 
Franck Biya’s elevation comes months after Paul Biya, 92, was sworn in for an unprecedented eighth term following a disputed election. The president secured 54 percent of the vote, defeating opposition candidate Issa Tchiroma Bakary, who has rejected the results, claiming electoral fraud. The Constitutional Council dismissed petitions challenging the outcome.
The move follows Cameroon’s parliament approving a constitutional amendment to reintroduce the vice presidency. Lawmakers voted 200 to 18, with four abstentions, to pass the bill. The legislation allows the vice president to automatically assume the presidency if the president dies, resigns, or becomes incapacitated, but bars the interim leader from making constitutional changes or running in the next election.
Opposition figures have criticised the appointments and the constitutional changes. Joshua Osih, chairman of the Social Democratic Front, said: “This text weakens legitimacy, reinforces centralisation, and ignores a major historical grievance,” calling for a system where the president and vice president are jointly elected.
The vice presidency had been abolished in 1972 and this marks the first major constitutional revision in Cameroon since 2008, when presidential term limits were removed, sparking nationwide protests that were met with a violent crackdown.
