History

Little is known about the history of Togo before the late 15th century, when Portuguese explorers arrived.

Togoland: Togo before Independence

Between the 12th and the 18th century, various tribes moved into the area of Togoland, including the Ewe from Nigeria and Benin, and the Mina and the Guin from Ghana. When the slave trade began in earnest in the 16th century, the Mina benefited the most, becoming ruthless agents for the European slave-traders. Slave shipments began from Grand Popo (now in Benin), Petit Popo (now Anécho), and other coastal villages; traders introduced the growing of cassava, coconuts, corn, and other crops in order to provision their slave ships. For the next 200 years, the coastal region was a major raiding centre for Europeans in search of slaves, earning Togo and the surrounding region the name "The Slave Coast". Europeans built forts in neighbouring Ghana (at Elmina) and Benin (at Ouidah), but not in Togo, which had no natural harbours. The French established trading posts at Petit Popo in 1626 and again in 1767, but abandoned them each time. The French were again active there and at Porto-Séguro, east of Lomé, from 1865 to 1883.

German traders came to Grand Popo as early as 1856, but did not arrive in significant numbers until 1880, when they began to establish control over the area. In an 1884 treaty signed at Togoville, Germany declared a protectorate over a stretch of territory along the coast and gradually extended its control inland. The Germans established a capital first at Baguida, then at Zebe, and in 1897 at Lomé. As the Germans extended their control to the north, they built roads and railroads and established administrative, legal, economic, educational and other institutions.

Boundary delimitations with the British and French were made in 1897 and 1899. These arrangements resulted in splitting the Ewe, Adja, Ouatchi, Fon and other peoples between the Gold Coast, Togo and Dahomey (now Benin).

On August 8, 1914, shortly after the outbreak of World War I, French and British forces invaded Togoland and the German forces there surrendered on August 26. In a provisional arrangement, the British took the coastal area and the railways, and the French assumed control of the interior. Following the war, Togoland formally became a League of Nations mandate divided for administrative purposes between France and the United Kingdom.

After World War II, the mandate became a UN trust territory administered by the United Kingdom and France. During the mandate and trusteeship periods, western Togo was administered as part of the British Gold Coast. The leaders of the Ewe people petitioned the UN for Togoland unification; at that time, the Ewe people were under three different administrations: British Togoland, the Gold Coast and French Togoland. The problem was partially resolved by a plebiscite held in British Togoland on 9 May 1956, when the residents of British Togoland voted to join the Gold Coast as part of the new independent nation of Ghana, and British Togoland ceased to exist.

Later that year, a referendum was held in French Togoland, when 72% of the voters chose to terminate French trusteeship and to become an autonomous republic within the French union. In April 1958, new elections were held, with the Committee for Togolese Union, who pledged to secure complete independence, wining control of the Togo Assembly. The leader of the Committee for Togolese Union, Sylvanus Olympio, subsequently became prime minister.

Independence

On 13 October 1958, the French government announced that full independence would be granted, and on 27 April 1960, the Republic of Togo became a sovereign nation, with Olympio as president.

1961-63: Togo under Olympio

A new constitution in 1961 established an executive president, elected for 7 years by universal suffrage and a weak National Assembly. The president was empowered to appoint ministers and dissolve the assembly, holding a monopoly of executive power. In elections that year, Olympio's party won 90% of the vote and all 51 National Assembly seats, and he became Togo's first elected president.

During this period, four principal political parties existed in Togo: the leftist Juvento (Togolese youth movement); the Union Démocratique des Populations Togolaises (IDPT); the Parti Togolais du Progrès (PTP), founded by Nicolas Grunitzky but having limited support; and the Unité Togolaise (UT), the party of President Olympio. Rivalries between elements of these parties had begun as early as the 1940s, and they came to a head with Olympio dissolving the opposition parties in January 1962 due to alleged plots against the majority party government. The reign of Olympio was marked by the terror of his militia, the Ablode Sodjas. Many opposition members, including Grunitzky and Meatchi, were jailed or fled to avoid arrest.

1963-67: Togo under Grunitzky

On January 13, 1963, President Olympio was assassinated in an uprising of army non-commissioned officers dissatisfied with conditions following their discharge from the French army. At the insurgents' behest, Grunitzky returned from exile 2 days later to head a provisional government with the title of prime minister. On May 5, 1963, the Togolese adopted a new constitution which reinstated a multi-party system, chose deputies from all political parties for the National Assembly, and elected Grunitzky as president and Antoine Meatchi as vice president. Nine days later, President Grunitzky formed a government in which all parties were represented.

1967-2005: Togo under Eyadéma

During the next several years, the Grunitzky government's power became insecure. The final months of his presidency were marked by antigovernment demonstrations involving many of Olympio's former supporters and sympathizers. On November 21, 1966, an attempt to overthrow Grunitzky, inspired principally by civilian political opponents in the UT party, was unsuccessful. Grunitzky then tried to lessen his reliance on the army, but on January 13, 1967, a coup led by Col. Kléber Dadjo and Lt. Col. Étienne Eyadéma (later known as Gen. Gnassingbé Eyadéma) ousted President Grunitzky in a bloodless military coup. Political parties were banned, and all constitutional processes were suspended. Dadjo became the chairman of the "committee of national reconciliation", which ruled the country until April 14, when Eyadéma assumed the presidency.

In late 1969, Éyadéma proposed the establishment of a single national political party, the Rally of the Togolese People (RPT), and President Eyadéma was elected party president on November 29, 1969. At its first party congress in November 1971, the RPT representatives opposed the idea of constitutional government and asked for a national referendum in support of the Éyadéma regime. This took place in January 1972, with 99% of the country voting for Éyadéma and thus confirming his role as the country's president.

Survivors of a 1970 plot to overthrow the regime were pardoned after the referendum, and several former members of Olympio's government joined the RPT.

In 1974, Éyadéma began to advocate a 'cultural authenticity' policy, in a drive to ensure Africanisation in Togo. At this time, Éyadéma dropped his first name, Étienne, using instead his African second name, Gnassingbé.

The Third Republic

In late 1979, Éyadéma was re-elected as president without opposition, garnering 99.97% of the vote. The voters also approved a draft constitution for what was called the Third Republic (succeeding the republics headed by Olympio and Grunitzky) and a transition to greater civilian rule with a mixed civilian and military cabinet. The new constitution also provided for a 67-member National Assembly to serve primarily as a consultative body.

On September 23, 1986, a group of some 70 armed Togolese dissidents crossed into Lomé from Ghana in an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the Eyadéma government. The coup attempt was reportedly financed by Gilchrist Olympio (the son of Sylvanus Olympio), who was sentenced to death in absentia. Another 12 men were given death sentences, and 14 were sentenced to life imprisonment. Eyadéma was re-elected to a third consecutive 7-year term in December 1986 with 99.5% of the vote in an uncontested election.

Opposition to Éyadéma

In 1989 and 1990, Togo, like many other countries, was affected by the winds of democratic change sweeping Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. On October 5, 1990, the trial of students who handed out antigovernment tracts sparked riots in Lomé. Antigovernment demonstrations and violent clashes with the security forces marked the months that followed. Opposition to Éyadéma's rule came to a head in March 1991, which led to the government agreeing to institute a multiparty system and to grant a general amnesty that permitted exiled political opponents to return to Togo. After a general strike and further demonstrations, the government and opposition signed an agreement to hold a 'national forum' on June 12, 1991.

The national forum, dominated by opponents of President Eyadéma, opened in July 1991 and immediately declared itself to be a sovereign 'National Conference'. Although subjected to severe harassment from the government, the conference drafted an interim constitution calling for a 1-year transitional regime tasked with organising free elections for a new government. The conference selected Joseph Kokou Koffigoh, a lawyer and human rights group head, as transitional prime minister but kept President Eyadéma as chief of state for the transition, although with limited powers. On 28 August 1991, Éyadéma ended 24 years of military rule by surrendering authority to Koffigoh; the RPT was to be disbanded and Éyadéma barred from running for the presidency.

In late 1991, armed forces loyal to Éyadéma tried to overthrow Koffigoh. On 3 December 1991, however, they attacked the prime minister's office and captured him. The French refused to help Koffigoh and he was forced to form a second transition government in January 1992 with substantial participation by ministers from the President's party. Opposition leader Gilchrist Olympio, was ambushed and seriously wounded apparently by soldiers on May 5, 1992.

In July and August 1992, a commission composed of presidential and opposition representatives negotiated a new political agreement. On September 27, the public overwhelmingly approved the text of a new, democratic constitution, formally initiating Togo's fourth republic.

The Fourth Republic

The democratic process was set back in October 1992, when elements of the army held the interim legislature hostage for 24 hours. This effectively put an end to the interim legislature. In retaliation, on November 16, opposition political parties and labour unions declared a general strike intended to force President Eyadéma to agree to satisfactory conditions for elections. The general strike largely shut down Lomé for months and resulted in severe damage to the economy.

Koffigoh as Prime Minister

In January 1993, President Eyadéma declared the transition at an end and reappointed Koffigoh as prime minister under Eyadéma's authority. This set off public demonstrations, and, on January 25, members of the security forces fired on peaceful demonstrators, killing at least 19. In the ensuing days, several security force members were waylaid and injured or killed by civilian oppositionists. On January 30, 1993, elements of the military went on an 8-hour rampage throughout Lomé, firing indiscriminately and killing at least 12 people. This incident provoked more than 300,000 Togolese to flee Lomé for Benin, Ghana or the interior of Togo. Although most had returned by early 1996, some still remain abroad.

On March 25, 1993, armed Togolese dissident commandos based in Ghana attacked Lomé's main military camp and tried unsuccessfully to kill President Eyadéma. They inflicted significant casualties, however, which set off lethal reprisals by the military against soldiers thought to be associated with the attackers.

Under substantial domestic and foreign pressure and the burden of the general strike, the presidential faction entered negotiations with the opposition in early 1993. Four rounds of talks led to the July 11 Ouagadougou agreement setting forth conditions for upcoming presidential and legislative elections and ending the general strike as of August 3, 1993. The presidential elections were set for August 25, but hasty and inadequate technical preparations, concerns about fraud, and the lack of effective campaign organisation by the opposition led the chief opposition candidates (former minister and Organisation of African Unity Secretary General Edem Kodjo and lawyer Yawovi Agboyibo) to drop out of the race before election day and to call for a boycott. President Eyadéma won the elections by a 96.42% vote against token opposition. About 36% of the voters went to the polls; the others boycotted.

Ghana-based armed dissidents launched a new commando attack on military sites in Lomé in January 1994. President Eyadéma was unhurt, and the attack and subsequent reaction by the Togolese armed forces resulted in hundreds of deaths, mostly civilian. The government went ahead with legislative elections on February 6 and February 20, 1994. In generally free and fair polls as witnessed by international observers, the allied opposition parties UTD and CAR together won a narrow majority in the National Assembly.

Kodjo as Prime Minister

On April 22, President Eyadéma named Edem Kodjo, the head of the smaller opposition party, the UTD, as prime minister instead of Yawovi Agboyibo, whose CAR party had far more seats. Kodjo's acceptance of the post of prime minister provoked the CAR to break the opposition alliance and refuse to join the Kodjo government.

Kodjo was then forced to form a governing coalition with the RPT. Kodjo's government emphasised economic recovery, building democratic institutions and the rule of law and the return of Togolese refugees abroad. In early 1995, the government made slow progress toward its goals, aided by the CAR's August 1995 decision to end a 9-month boycott of the National Assembly. However, Kodjo was forced to reshuffle his government in late 1995, strengthening the representation by Eyadéma's RPT party, and he resigned in August 1996. Since then, Eyadéma has re-emerged with a sure grip on power, controlling most aspects of government.

1998 Elections

In the June 1998 presidential election, the government prevented citizens from effectively exercising the right to vote. The Interior Ministry declared Eyadéma the winner with 52% of the vote in the 1998 election; however, serious irregularities in the government's conduct of the election strongly favoured the incumbent and appear to have affected the outcome materially. Although the government did not obstruct the functioning of political opponents openly, the President used the strength of the military and his government allies to intimidate and harass citizens and opposition groups. The government and the state remained highly centralised: President Eyadéma's national government appointed the officials and controlled the budgets of all subnational government entities, including prefectures and municipalities, and influenced the selection of traditional chiefs

Éyadéma's dubious victory precipitated a national crisis, and led the opposition to boycott the legislative elections delayed and then scheduled for March 1999.

1999 National Assembly Elections

The second multi-party legislative elections of Eyadéma's 33-year rule were held on March 21, 1999. However, the opposition boycotted the election, in which the ruling party won 79 of the 81 seats in the National Assembly. Those two seats went to candidates from little-known independent parties. Procedural problems and significant fraud, particularly misrepresentation of voter turnout marred the legislative elections.

After the legislative election, the government announced that it would continue to pursue dialogue with the opposition. In June 1999, the RPT and opposition parties met in Paris, in the presence of facilitators representing France, Germany, the European Union and La Francophonie (an international organisation of French-speaking countries), to agree on security measures for formal negotiations in Lomé. In July 1999, the government and the opposition began discussions, and on July 29, 1999, all sides signed an accord called the "Lomé Framework Agreement", which included a pledge by President Eyadéma to respect the constitution and not seek another term as president after his current one expired in 2003. The accord also called for the negotiation of political rights for opposition leaders and legal status for former heads of state (such as their immunity from prosecution for acts in office). In addition, the accord addressed the rights and duties of political parties and the media, the safe return of refugees, and the security of all citizens. The accord also contained a provision for compensating victims of political violence.

The President also agreed to dissolve the National Assembly in March 2000 and hold new legislative elections, which would be supervised by an independent national election commission (CENI) and which would use the single-ballot method to protect against some of the abuses of past elections. However, the March 2000 date passed without presidential action, as did deadlines in October 2001 and March 2002.

In May 2002, the government scrapped CENI, blaming the opposition for its inability to function. In its stead, the government appointed seven magistrates to oversee preparations for legislative elections. The elections were finally held in October 2002. The Union of the Forces for Change (UFC) and the Action Committee for Renewal (CAR), grouped as the Coalition of Democratic Forces (CFD), boycotted the elections, in which the RPT took 72 of the 81 seats. The elections were held without violence, and international election observers judged them to be democratic and transparent.

December 2002, Eyadéma's government used this new parliament to amend Togo's constitution, allowing President Eyadéma to run for an "unlimited" number of terms. A further amendment stated that candidates must reside in the country for at least 12 months before an election, a provision that barred the participation in the upcoming presidential election of popular Union des Forces du Progrès (UFC) candidate, Gilchrist Olympio, who had been in exile since 1992. The presidential election was held June 1, 2003, with President Eyadéma re-elected with 57% of the votes, amid allegations of widespread vote rigging.

2005: The Death of Eyadéma

President Eyadéma died on February 5, 2005 while onboard an airplane en route to France for treatment for a heart attack. His son, Faure Gnassingbé, the country's former minister of public works, mines, and telecommunications, was named President by Togo's military following the announcement of his father's death. However, Gnassingbé was forced to step down on February 25, under international pressure from the African Union and the United Nations, who both denounced the transfer of power from father to son as a coup.

Deputy Speaker Bonfoh Abbass was appointed interim president until the inauguration of the April 24, 2005 election winner, who according to official results was Gnassingbé with 60% of the vote. However, opposition leader Emmanuel Bob-Akitani disputed the election and declared himself to be the winner with 70% of the vote. After the announcement of the results, tensions flared and over 100 people were killed. On May 3, 2005, Gnassingbé was sworn in and vowed to concentrate on "the promotion of development, the common good, peace and national unity".