Roger Léon Charles Guérillot (12th of November 1904 – 31st of October 1971) was a French colonist of Ubangi-Shari who was involved in the process of independence by which it became the Central African Republic.

Guérillot is known mainly for having developed the Committee of Economic Health, a failed project for the expansion of plantations in Ubangi-Shari, under the authority of the Loi Cadre Defferre (1957–1958).

Until the end of his life, Guérillot used two first names on legal documents, Léon and Charles,[2] He had been a student at the École Spéciale des Travaux Publics before being hired by Michelin in 1928, to work as an engineer in their technical service centre in Paris.

[2] He had completely acquired the confidence of Boganda, who in turn named him General Treasurer of his party, the Movement for the Social Evolution of Black Africa (MESAN).

[7] Guérillot adopted a paternalistic attitude towards his African ministerial colleagues: he took care of their facilities, organised a car for each of them, chose their residences, and decorated their offices.

[10] Most importantly, he made himself an obligatory intermediary between the ministers and Boganda, requiring that any request to meet with the leader of MESAN be addressed to him personally.

[11] In October 1957, while Ubangi-Shari was in the grip of social protests, some African officials demanded equality with their white colleagues and Guérillot decided to raise their salaries.

[16] This project, called a système de détaxation-surtaxation, was inspired by the economic theories developed by the founder of the cosmetics group L'Oréal, Eugène Schueller.

[16] The idea of a special tax on fuel was most widely considered in the spring of 1958 when Guérillot was focused on the finances necessary to create rural collectives in Ubangi-Shari.

Guérillot calculated that their introduction would require an additional 60–85  million Central African CFA francs in the local budget.

[21] This cost would be gradually reimbursed, partially by the new owners of the plantations who were expected to repay around 3.5 billion francs of loans, by training fees, and by the factories.

[24] The Committee for Economic Health had to be with the limited assistance offered by the French state,[22] from which Ubangi-Shari borrowed a hundred million CFA francs in March 1958.

Guérillot also came into conflict with Boganda after the latter became aware of his political manoeuvres in spring 1958 to get the seat in the French Senate for Ubangi-Shari vested in Hector Riviérez.

Abel Goumba was finally convinced that through the fuel tax project, Guérillot had intended to collect a personal commission on petrol.

[35] This was the beginning of a long diplomatic career in the service of the Central African Republic, the independent state which Ubangi-Shari became on 1 December 1958.

[37] on 1 January 1961, Guérillot saw his mission redefined as simply a commercial delegate attached to the Central African Republic's embassy in Paris.

He was among those who suggested to David Dacko, Boganda's successor, the idea of entrusting Captain Jean-Bédel Bokassa with the task of organising the new national army.

In the AOF, the former French senator, Georges Monnet, who was close to Félix Houphouët-Boigny, served as Minister of Agriculture in Ivory Coast from 1959 to 1961.

[44] This union led to Christian Jayle receiving the post of Secretary of State for Information from Youlou in February 1959, a role which he held until April 1960.