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".
Politics of Togo takes place in a framework of a presidential republic, whereby the President of Togo is both head of state and head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament. After independence, the party system was dominated first by the authoritarian Rally for the Togolese People, and later by its successor party, Union for the Republic.
Gnassingbé Eyadéma was a Togolese military officer and politician who was the president of Togo from 1967 until his death in 2005, after which he was immediately succeeded by his son, Faure Gnassingbé.
Koffi Sama was the Prime Minister of Togo from 29 June 2002 to 9 June 2005.
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.
Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé is a Togolese politician who has been the president of Togo since 2005. Before assuming the presidency, he was appointed by his father, President Gnassingbé Eyadéma, as Minister of Equipment, Mines, Posts, and Telecommunications, serving from 2003 to 2005.
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.
Fambaré Ouattara Natchaba was a Togolese politician. He was the President of the National Assembly of Togo from September 2000 to February 2005. He was a prominent member of the ruling Rally of the Togolese People (RPT) and a member of the Pan-African Parliament representing Togo.
The Rally of the Togolese People was the ruling political party in Togo from 1969 to 2012. It was founded by President Gnassingbé Eyadéma and headed by his son, President Faure Gnassingbé, after the former's death in 2005. Faure Gnassingbé replaced the RPT with a new ruling party, the Union for the Republic (UNIR), in April 2012, dissolving the RPT.
Joseph Kokou Koffigoh is a Togolese politician, human rights activist, and a poet who served as Prime Minister of Togo from 27 August 1991 to 23 April 1994. Elected as Prime Minister by the opposition-dominated National Conference in 1991, Koffigoh was given full executive powers and tasked with overseeing a transition to multiparty elections. Beginning in December 1991, however, President Gnassingbé Eyadéma increasingly reasserted his authority at Koffigoh's expense. Although Koffigoh remained in office, the opposition eventually abandoned him, feeling he had become too cooperative with Eyadéma.
Messan Agbéyomé Gabriel Kodjo was a Togolese politician who served as Prime Minister of Togo from 29 August 2000 to 27 June 2002.
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.
Barry Moussa Barqué is a Togolese politician who served in the government of Togo under President Gnassingbé Eyadéma for most of the period from 1979 to 1999. He has been a Special Adviser to the President since 1999.
Pascal Akoussoulèlou Bodjona is a Togolese politician who served in the government of Togo as Minister of State for Territorial Administration, Decentralization, and Local Collectivities, as well as Government Spokesman, from 2007 to 2012. Previously he was Ambassador to the United States from 1998 to 2005 and Director of the Presidential Cabinet from 2005 to 2007.
Kpatcha Gnassingbé is a Togolese politician. He is a son of Gnassingbé Eyadéma, 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 Gnassingbé was Minister of Defense. In April 2009, he was arrested on suspicion on plotting to overthrow his brother.
A constitutional referendum was held in Togo on 30 December 1979, alongside simultaneous general elections. The changes to the constitution would establish the Third Togolese Republic and make the country a presidential republic and a one-party state, and were approved by 99.87% of voters with a 99.4% turnout. The constitution came into force on 12 January 1980.
The 1986 Togolese coup d'état attempt was a coup attempt that occurred in the West African country of Togo on 23 September 1986. The coup attempt consisted of a group of some 70 armed dissidents crossed into capital Lomé from Ghana in an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the government of President General Gnassingbé Eyadéma.
The 2005 Togo protests and riots were demonstrations and rioting against the results of the presidential election and Faure Gnassingbe's takeover of power. Protests began in February with protesters demanding new elections and the end of the Gnassingbe dynasty. Around 100 were killed before the elections, but after the 2005 Togolese presidential election around 500 protesters were killed by Togolese Armed Forces, assisted by military-trained Rally of the Togolese People (RPT) militias.
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.
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