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Togo
Ended UN trusteeship after Sylvanus Olympio's party won UN-supervised elections in 1958, defeating the French-backed government; independence followed on 27 April 1960.
- Independence
- April 27, 1960
- Before
- French Togoland
- Metropole
- France
- Leader
- Sylvanus Olympio
- Transition
- Negotiated
- Movement
- Comité de l'Unité Togolaise (CUT)
A Divided German Colony
Germany declared a protectorate over Togoland in 1884. British and French forces occupied it in 1914 and partitioned it; the League of Nations confirmed British and French mandates in 1922. The border split the Ewe people, whose reunification campaigns made Togoland a frequent subject of petitions to the UN Trusteeship Council after 1946.
Plebiscite and Autonomy
In a UN-supervised plebiscite on 9 May 1956, British Togoland voted to join the Gold Coast, which became independent as Ghana in 1957. France made its territory an autonomous republic in August 1956, with Nicolas Grunitzky as Prime Minister, and a French-run referendum endorsed the status, but the UN declined to end the trusteeship on that basis and insisted on fresh, supervised elections.
Olympio's Victory
In the UN-supervised elections of 27 April 1958, Sylvanus Olympio's Comité de l'Unité Togolaise defeated Grunitzky's French-backed Parti Togolais du Progrès. Olympio became Prime Minister in May 1958, the UN agreed to end the trusteeship, and Togo became independent on 27 April 1960.
Chronology
- 1884 — Germany declares a protectorate over Togoland
- 1914–1922 — Togoland occupied and partitioned; British and French mandates confirmed in 1922
- 9 May 1956 — British Togoland votes to join the Gold Coast
- 27 April 1958 — CUT wins UN-supervised elections
- 27 April 1960 — Independence proclaimed
- 13 January 1963 — Olympio assassinated in a military coup
Aftermath
Olympio was killed by ex-French army soldiers, among them Gnassingbé Eyadéma, in one of the first military coups in post-independence Africa. Grunitzky then became President. Eyadéma seized power himself in January 1967 and ruled until his death in 2005, when his son Faure Gnassingbé succeeded him.
Legacy
Togo's democratic start ended with the 1963 assassination of Sylvanus Olympio, an early sign of the military coups that spread across the continent. The Eyadéma family has held power ever since 1967.