of ministers of state and be divided into urban sections and rural communes. Due to the geographic span of such a federation—which would include Oubangui-Chari, Congo, Gabon, and Chad—he proposed that the state would be known as the "Central African Republic". He stressed the urgency of accomplishing this as quickly as possible, saying, "The Central African Republic must be built today, for tomorrow it will be too late [...] Chad and Oubangui-Chari will surely be solicited by other voices and other means". In a speech, Boganda revealed he envisioned the Central African Republic as a step in creating a larger United States of Latin Africa: Next we have to examine the question of the right bank of the Congo [river]. Since the official historical frontier is the Congo and not the Oubangui [river], we must regard that area from now on as belonging to the Central African Republic. Thirdly, we must work towards re-uniting the two Congos. The fourth stage will be to create the United States of Latin Africa, including the Central African Republic, the so-called Belgian Congo, Ruanda-Urundi, Angola, and Cameroon. Boganda dispatched Rivierez and David Dacko to Gabon, Chad, and the Congo to explore their interest in a united state. The two were unable to secure a meeting with authorities in Gabon, while Chadian leaders rejected the idea. Jacques Opangault, the leader of the government in the Congo, was enthusiastic about the proposal, but his majority in the Congolese legislature was slim and his position weak. Gabon was the richest of the states, and its refusal to engage with the proposal made the French hesitant to sanction the federation. In late November the French High Commissioner convened a meeting of the equatorial leaders in Brazzaville and told them that each territorial assembly was to independently ratify its referendums and finalise its decision to adhere to the new constitution. By 28 November, all the other territories had decided to join the French Community as separate entities. Disheartened, Boganda resigned himself to proclaiming only Oubangui-Chari as the Central African Republic on 1 December. Central African Republic The Central African Republic adopted a design drawn up by Boganda for its flag, including a star, the French tricolour, and colors of other African flags. He also penned the lyrics for the national anthem, "La Renaissance". On 6 December, the CAR's first government was established with Boganda as President of the Council