This article lists the colonial governors of Togo . It encompasses the period when the country was under colonial rule of the German Empire (as Togoland), military occupation of the territory by the Allies of World War I (during the Togoland campaign of the African theatre), as well as the period when it was a Class B League of Nations mandate and a United Nations trust territory, under the administration of France (as French Togoland) and the United Kingdom (as British Togoland) respectively.
(Dates in italics indicate de facto continuation of office)
| Tenure | Portrait | Incumbent | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 July 1884 to 6 July 1884 |  | Gustav Nachtigal , Kommissar | Commissioner; Reichskommissar (Reich Commissioner) for German West Africa |
| 6 July 1884 to 26 June 1885 | Heinrich Randad , Provisional Consul | ||
| 26 June 1885 to May 1887 | Ernst Falkenthal , Kommissar | Commissioner | |
| July 1887 to 17 October 1888 |  | Jesko von Puttkamer , acting Kommissar | acting Commissioner, 1st time |
| 17 October 1888 to 14 April 1891 |  | Eugen von Zimmerer , Kommissar | Commissioner |
| 14 April 1891 to 4 June 1892 | Markus Graf von Pfeil , acting Kommissar | acting Commissioner | |
| 4 June 1892 to 17 November 1893 | | Jesko von Puttkamer , Kommissar | Commissioner, 2nd time |
| 17 November 1893 to 13 August 1895 | Jesko von Puttkamer , Landeshauptleute | State Captain | |
| 18 November 1895 to 18 April 1898 |  | August Köhler , Landeshauptleute | State Captain |
| 18 April 1898 to 20 January 1902 | August Köhler , Governor | ||
| 20 January 1902 to 27 July 1905 | Woldemar Horn , Governor | Acting to 1 December 1902 | |
| 27 July 1905 to 7 November 1910 |  | Julius von Zech auf Neuhofen , Governor | |
| 7 November 1910 to 19 June 1912 | Edmund Brückner , Governor | Acting to 31 March 1911 | |
| 19 June 1912 to 31 August 1914 |  | Duke Adolf Friedrich of Mecklenburg , Governor | Member of the House of Mecklenburg; later the Duke-elect of the United Baltic Duchy (5 to 28 November 1918) |
| August 1914 |  | Hans Georg von Doering , acting Governor | Acting for Adolf Friedrich |
| (31 August 1914) | Occupation by Great Britain and France | ||
| 4 September 1916 | Germany surrenders territory to occupying powers | ||
| Tenure | Portrait | Incumbent | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26 August 1914 to 4 September 1916 |  | Gaston Léopold Joseph Fourn , Military Administrator | Afterwards served as Commissioner of French Togoland |
| Tenure | Portrait | Incumbent | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| French-occupied territory | |||
| 4 September 1916 to 27 April 1917 | | Gaston Léopold Joseph Fourn , Commissioner | Previously served as Military Administrator during Allied occupation of Togoland |
| 27 April 1917 to 31 January 1922 | Alfred Louis Woelffel , Commissioner | ||
| 30 November 1920 to 1921 | Pierre Benjamin Victor Sasias , acting Commissioner | Acting for Woelffel, 1st time | |
| 26 January 1922 to 31 January 1922 | Acting for Woelffel, 2nd time | ||
| 31 January 1922 to 20 July 1922 | Paul Auguste François Bonnecarrère , Commissioner | ||
| French Togoland ( League of Nations mandate ) | |||
| 20 July 1922 to 27 December 1931 | Paul Auguste François Bonnecarrère , Commissioner | Acting to 22 December 1922 | |
| 27 December 1931 to 18 October 1933 | Robert Paul Marie de Guise , Commissioner | ||
| 18 October 1933 to 7 May 1934 | Léon Charles Adolphe Pêtre , acting Commissioner | ||
| 7 May 1934 to 1 January 1935 | Maurice Léon Bourgine , Commissioner | ||
| 1 January 1935 to 25 September 1936 |  | Léon Geismar , Commissioner | |
| 25 September 1936 to 1 January 1941 | Michel Lucien Montagné , Commissioner | ||
| 1 January 1941 to 19 November 1941 | Léonce Joseph Delpech , Commissioner | Acting to 28 August 1941 | |
| 19 November 1941 to 12 April 1942 | Jean-François de Saint-Alary , Commissioner | ||
| 12 April 1942 to 31 August 1943 | Pierre Jean André Saliceti , Commissioner | ||
| 31 August 1943 to 10 January 1944 | Albert Mercadier , acting Commissioner | ||
| 10 January 1944 to 13 December 1946 | Jean Noutary , Commissioner | Acting to 4 November 1944 | |
| French Togoland ( United Nations trust territory ) | |||
| 13 December 1946 to 8 March 1948 | Jean Noutary , Commissioner | ||
| 8 March 1948 to 20 September 1951 | Jean Henri Arsène Cédile , Commissioner | ||
| 20 September 1951 to 25 April 1952 | Yves Jean Digo , Commissioner | ||
| 25 April 1952 to 3 February 1955 | Laurent Elysée Péchoux , Commissioner | ||
| 3 February 1955 to 21 September 1956 | Jean Louis Philippe Bérard , Commissioner | Acting to 6 August 1955 | |
| 21 September 1956 to 23 March 1957 | Jean Louis Philippe Bérard , High Commissioner | ||
| 23 March 1957 to June 1957 | Joseph Édouard Georges Marie Rigal , acting High Commissioner | ||
| June 1957 to 27 April 1960 | Georges Léon Spénale , High Commissioner | ||
| 27 April 1960 | Independence as Togolese Republic | ||
For continuation after independence, see: List of presidents of Togo
| Tenure | Portrait | Incumbent | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 27 December 1916 to 30 September 1920 |  | the governors of Gold Coast | Under direct administration of Gold Coast colony |
| 30 September 1920 to 11 October 1923 | Francis Walter Fillon Jackson , Administrator | ||
| 11 October 1923 to 6 March 1957 | | the governors of Gold Coast | Under direct administration of Gold Coast colony |
| 6 March 1957 | Part of independent Ghana | ||
For continuation after independence, see: List of heads of state of Ghana
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 French Union was a political entity created by the French Fourth Republic to replace the old French colonial empire system, colloquially known as the "French Empire". It was de jure the end of the "indigenous" status of French subjects in colonial areas.
French West Africa was a federation of eight French colonial territories in West Africa: Mauritania, Senegal, French Sudan, French Guinea, Ivory Coast, Upper Volta, Dahomey and Niger. The federation existed from 1895 until 1958. Its capital was Saint-Louis in Senegal until 1902, and then Dakar until the federation's collapse in 1960.
British Togoland, officially the Mandate Territory of Togoland and later officially the Trust Territory of Togoland, was a territory in West Africa under the administration of the United Kingdom, which subsequently entered a union with Ghana, part of which became its Volta Region. The territory was effectively formed in 1916 by the splitting of the German protectorate of Togoland into two territories, French Togoland and British Togoland, during the First World War. Initially, it was a League of Nations Class B mandate. In 1922, British Togoland was formally placed under British rule, and French Togoland, now Togo, was placed under French rule.
Sylvanus Épiphanio Olympio was a Togolese politician who served as prime minister, and then president, of Togo from 1958 until his assassination in 1963. He came from the important Olympio family, which included his uncle Octaviano Olympio, one of the richest people in Togo in the early 1900s.
Togoland was a German Empire protectorate in West Africa from 1884 to 1914, encompassing what is now the nation of Togo and most of what is now the Volta Region of Ghana, approximately 90,400 km2 in size. During the period known as the "Scramble for Africa", the colony was established in 1884 and was gradually extended inland.
Elections in Togo take place within the framework of a presidential system. Both the President and the National Assembly are directly elected by voters. Togo is a one party dominant state with the Union for the Republic in power.
The Ewe people are a Gbe-speaking ethnic group. The largest population of Ewe people is in Ghana, and the second largest population is in Togo. They speak the Ewe language which belongs to the Gbe family of languages. They are related to other speakers of Gbe languages such as the Fon, Gen, Phla Phera, Gun, Maxi, and the Aja people of Togo and Benin.
French Togoland was a French colonial League of Nations mandate from 1916 to 1946, and a UN trust territory from 1946 to 1960 in French West Africa. In 1960 it became the independent Togolese Republic, and the present day nation of Togo.
A referendum on autonomy was held in French Togoland on 28 October 1956. Since World War I, the territory had been a League of Nations mandate and then a United Nations Trust Territory under French control. The referendum offered residents the choice of remaining a Trust Territory or becoming an autonomous region within the French Union. The result was 93% in favour of the latter, with a 77% turnout. However, the referendum was rejected by the United Nations General Assembly as it had not included the option of independence and opted to continue with the trusteeship. In neighbouring British Togoland, a referendum earlier in the year had resulted in the territory becoming part of Ghana.
Rail transport in Togo began in 1905.
Cinema in Togo began with German colonial filmmakers visiting Togoland. The French attempted to suppress cinema in French Togoland. After the Togolese Republic gained independence in 1960, Togo's national government encouraged cinema, though government support for cinema lapsed when French funding was withdrawn in the 1990s. More recently, however, the film industry is once again growing in Togo.
Western Togoland is a self-proclaimed state which is considered by the international community to be part of Ghana. It claims five of the Volta and Oti Regions. On 25 September 2020 separatists in Western Togoland declared independence from the Republic of Ghana. Western Togoland has been a member state of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) since 2017.
The Ewe Unification Movement was a series of west African ethno-nationalist efforts which sought the unification of the Ewe peoples spread across what are now modern Ghana and Togo. It emerged as a direct political goal around 1945 under the colonial mandate of French Togoland, however the ideal of unifying the group has been an identifiable sentiment present amongst the ethnicity's leadership and wider population ever since their initial colonial partitions by the British and German Empires from 1874 to 1884. While there have been many efforts to bring about unification, none have ultimately been successful due to both the platform itself often being a secondary concern for political leadership, or inter/intrastate conflicts overshadowing them.
The Western Togoland Rebellion is an ongoing separatist revolt led by the Ewe nationalist organization Western Togoland Restoration Front (WTRF) against the government of Ghana. The group seeks the independence of former British Togoland.
Togolese nationality law is regulated by the Constitution of Togo, as amended; the Togolese Nationality Code, and its revisions; the Code of Persons and Family; the Children's Code; and various international agreements to which the country is a signatory. These laws determine who is, or is eligible to be, a national of Togo. The legal means to acquire nationality, formal legal membership in a nation, differ from the domestic relationship of rights and obligations between a national and the nation, known as citizenship. Nationality describes the relationship of an individual to the state under international law, whereas citizenship is the domestic relationship of an individual within the nation. Togolese nationality is typically obtained under the principal of jus sanguinis, i.e. by birth in Togo or abroad to parents with Togolese nationality. It can be granted to persons with an affiliation to the country, or to a permanent resident who has lived in the country for a given period of time through naturalization.
France–Togo relations are the diplomatic relations between the French Republic and the Togolese Republic. Both nations are members of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie and the United Nations.
