Lidi Bessi Kama | |
---|---|
Minister of Sports and Leisure | |
Assumed office 1 October 2020 | |
President | Faure Gnassingbé |
Prime Minister | Victoire Tomegah Dogbé |
Personal details | |
Born | Lomé,Togo | 15 March 1979
Alma mater | University of Lomé |
Awards | Knight of the Order of Mono (2011) |
Military service | |
Allegiance | Togo |
Branch/service | Togolese Armed Forces |
Rank | Physician-commander |
Lidi Kedjaka Bessi Kama-Gumedzoe (born 15 March 1979) is a Togolese handball administrator and physician who has served as Minister of Sports and Leisure since 2020. She has also served as a military physician and as a member of several sports governing body medical commissions,chairing those of the Togolese Handball Federation and International Handball Federation.
Lidi Kedjaka Bessi Kama-Gumedzoe was born on 15 March 1979 in Lomé. [1] She was educated at the Notre Dame des Apôtres College in Lomé,at Lycée de Tokoin (obtaining her baccalaureate in 1996),and at the LoméArmy Health Service School. [2] She then graduated with a doctorate in medicine at the University of Lomé,where she got a specialist degree in pediatrics and child hygiene,before getting a specialist degree in sports medicine at the UniversitéFélix Houphouët-Boigny. [2]
After joining the Togolese National Olympic Committee Medical Commission in 2005,she was part of the 2008 Summer Olympics as Togo's closing ceremony flagbearer and an Olympic physician. [3] [1] After serving as Togo's representative in the Zone II and Zone III Regional Anti-Doping Organization in 2006,she served as president from 2015 to 2017. [1] She has also chaired the Medical Commissions of the Togolese Handball Federation (in 2008) and International Handball Federation. [1] [4] She also joined the African Handball Confederation Medical Commission in 2009. [1]
She is a doctor-commander in the Togolese Armed Forces,and is the country's first female paratrooper doctor. [4] [1] She has worked as a pediatrician at the Sylvanus Olympio University Hospital and as a teacher at the École nationale des auxiliaires médicaux . [1] She was also Deputy Force Medical Officer of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali from 2017 until 2018. [1] She was a commissioner of the National Human Rights Commission of Togo from April 2019 to 2021. [1]
On 1 October 2020,she became Minister of Sports and Leisure of Togo as part of Victoire Tomegah Dogbé's cabinet;she is the second woman to be Togo's sports minister,the first one being Angèle Bansah . [4] [2] She had assumed the position amidst the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic in Togo. [4]
She was made Knight of the Order of Mono in 2011. [1]
Togo,officially the Togolese Republic,is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west,Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It is one of the least developed countries and extends south to the Gulf of Guinea,where its capital,Lomé,is located. It is a small,tropical country,which covers 57,000 square kilometres and has a population of approximately 8 million,and it has a width of less than 115 km (71 mi) between Ghana and its eastern neighbour Benin.
The history of Togo can be traced to archaeological finds which indicate that ancient local tribes were able to produce pottery and process tin. During the period from the 11th century to the 16th century,the Ewé,the Mina,the Gun,and various other tribes entered the region. Most of them settled in coastal areas. The Portuguese arrived in the late 15th century,followed by other European powers. Until the 19th century,the coastal region was a major slave trade centre,earning Togo and the surrounding region the name "The Slave Coast".
The Togo national football team represents Togo in international football and is controlled by the Togolese Football Federation. The national football team of Togo made their debut in the FIFA World Cup in 2006. Their team bus underwent a fatal attack in Angola prior to the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations. They withdrew and were subsequently banned from the following two tournaments by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). In 2013 for the first time in history,Togo reached the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations. The team represents both FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
Édouard Kodjovi "Edem" Kodjo,was a Togolese politician and diplomat. He was Secretary-General of the Organisation of African Unity from 1978 to 1983;later,in Togo,he was a prominent opposition leader after the introduction of multi-party politics. He served as Prime Minister from 1994 to 1996 and again from 2005 to 2006. Kodjo was President of the Patriotic Pan-African Convergence (CPP). Kodjo died on April 11,2020,in Paris.
Eugene Koffi Adoboli is a Togolese politician. He was Prime Minister of Togo from 21 May 1999 to 31 August 2000. In 2011 he was sentenced to five years in jail in absentia stemming from an embezzlement scandal while he was Prime Minister.
Roxana Maracineanu is a Romanian-born French politician,former swimming champion and television consultant who served as Minister Delegate in charge of Sports in the government of Prime Minister Jean Castex (2020–2022) and as Minister of Sports under Édouard Philippe (2018–2022).
Yawovi Madji Agboyibo was a Togolese attorney and politician. He served as Prime Minister of Togo from September 2006 to December 2007 and was National President of the Action Committee for Renewal (CAR),an opposition political party,from 1991 to 2008. He was the Honorary President of the CAR.
The Championnat National de Premiere Division is a football league featuring clubs from Togo,and is the primary competition of Togolese football. Founded in 1961,it is administered by the Togolese Football Federation.
Parliamentary elections were held in Togo on October 14,2007 for the 81 seats in the National Assembly. There were over 2,000 candidates,with 32 parties and 41 lists of independent candidates competing. The ruling Rally of the Togolese People (RPT) was victorious,winning a majority of 50 seats. The remaining seats were won by opposition parties;the Union of the Forces of Change (UFC) won 27 seats and the Action Committee for Renewal (CAR) won four seats. They were the first parliamentary elections since the beginning of multiparty politics in the early 1990s in which all major parties participated.
Zarifou Ayéva is a Togolese politician and the President of the Party for Democracy and Renewal (PDR). He served in the government of Togo as a minister during the 1970s and became an opposition leader in the early 1990s. He was a minor candidate in the 1998 presidential election and later served as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs from 2005 to 2007.
Richard Attipoé was a Togolese politician. He served in the government of Togo as Minister of Youth and Sports from September 2006 to June 2007 and was a member of the ruling Rally of the Togolese People (RPT).
Gilbert Fossoun Houngbo is a Togolese politician and diplomat who was Prime Minister of Togo from September 2008 to July 2012. He has also held various positions within the United Nations System,including the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP),the International Labour Office and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). In 2022 he was elected as the 11th Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO).
Kofi Esaw is a Togolese politician and diplomat who has served in the government of Togo as Minister of Justice since 2013. He was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2008 to 2010 and subsequently served as diplomatic adviser to President Faure Gnassingbé.
Charles Kondi Agba is a Togolese politician who served in the government of Togo from 1999 to 2008. He again served in the government as Minister of Health from 2011 to 2013.
Kpatcha Gnassingbé is a Togolese politician. He is a son of GnassingbéEyadéma,who was President of Togo from 1967 to 2005,and a brother of Faure Gnassingbé,who has been President since 2005. From 2005 to 2007,Kpatcha Gnassingbéwas Minister of Defense. In April 2009,he was arrested on suspicion on plotting to overthrow his brother.
MawupéValentin Vovor was a Togolese medical doctor,academic figure and politician. He was born in Kpalime in 1923 and died in Paris in 1992. Vovor studied Biology and Medicine in Montpellier and Dijon (France). He served as professor of Medicine of the French universities (1965),and was the first sub-Saharan African member of the French Academy of Surgery (1973). Vovor created and contributed to the creation of number of schools of medicine across francophone sub-Saharan Africa. He taught Surgery and Gynecology in Benin,Cameroon,Congo,Central African Republic,Senegal and Togo.
Togo competed at the 2016 Summer Paralympics held in Rio de Janeiro,Brazil from 7 to 18 September 2016. The country's participation in Rio marked its debut appearance in the quadrennial event,although it had competed in the Summer Olympics nine times since the 1972 Games. The delegation consisted of a single lightweight powerlifter,Aliou Bawa,who qualified by being issued with a Bipartite Commission Invitation spot by the International Paralympic Committee. Bawa was the flag bearer for the opening ceremony. Bawa failed to record a mark in the men's 49 kg category after being unable to lift 113 kilograms of weight in his three attempts.
India and Togo maintain diplomatic relations. Togo opened its embassy in New Delhi in October 2010. The High Commission of India in Accra,Ghana is concurrently accredited to Togo. India also maintains an Honorary Consulate General in Lomé.
Ayawavi Djigbodi Patricia Dagban-Zonvidé is a Togolese politician. Holder of a doctorate in African and comparative literature,Dagban-Zonvidéis Minister for the Promotion of Women in the government of Arthème Kwesi Séléagodji Ahoomey-Zunu.
Robert Dussey is a Togolese politician and minister. Since September 17,2013,he is the Minister of Foreign Affairs,Cooperation and African Integration of Togo. He entered the second government Kwesi Ahoomey-Zunu,remained in the Government of Komi Selom Klassou from June 28,2015,to January 4,2019,and still serves as the Minister of Foreign Affairs,African integration and Togolese abroad.