History of Togo

Background: French Togoland became Togo in 1960 after the expiration of the French-administered UN trusteeship on April 27 of that year. Despite the facade of multiparty rule instituted in the early 1990s, the government continues to be dominated by the military, which has maintained its power almost continuously since 1967. The first president of Togo, Sylvanus Olympio (1901-1963) took office as soon as Togo gained independence in 1960. When he refused to let 626 Togolese veterans of the French army, many of whom had fought in Indochina and Algeria, join Togo's army, they deposed him in a military coup on January 13, 1963. He was killed the next day. A civilian president, Nicolas Grunitzky (1913-1969) was installed, but exactly four years later, there was another military coup. Grunitzky fled the country and was killed in a car crash in the Ivory Coast. One of the original veterans from the 1963 coup, Gnassingbe Eyadema (1937-) has been president since 1967. He was nearly defeated in the 1998 election by Gilcrest Olympio, son of Sylvanus Olympio. Eyadema was reelected again in 2003.

See also : Togo