A Council of Notables is a political body comprising persons of note in a community who are chosen by the governing authority in the region for their special knowledge, experience, skills, status or accomplishments.
"[1] A Council of Notables was one of many political bodies established by the French in colonial Cameroun between the First and Second World Wars.
These local government institutions comprised the people whom the French deemed to be the elite of the region.
[2] By establishing these bodies, the colonial regime hoped to reign in some of Cameroun's nationalist and pro-independence sentiment.
In return, the Council members received a cut of taxes collected, exemption from some obligations, and a stipend for supervising road construction.