Sylvanus Olympio

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Sylvanus Olympio bigraphy, stories - President of Togo

Sylvanus Olympio : biography

6 September 1902 – 13 January 1963

Sylvanus Epiphanio Olympio (6 September 1902 – 13 January 1963) was a Togolese political figure 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. After graduating from the London School of Economics, he worked for Unilever and became the general manager of the African operations of that company. After World War II, Olympio became prominent in efforts for independence of Togo and his party won the 1958 election making him the Prime Minister of the country. His power was further cemented when Togo achieved independence and he won the 1961 election making him the first President of Togo. He was assassinated during the 1963 Togolese coup d’état.

Aftermath

The army increased dramatically from 250 in 1963 to 1,200 by 1966. And when protests in the Ewe region, Olympio’s ethnic group, caused chaos in 1967, the military under Étienne Eyadéma deposed the government of Nicolas Grunitzky. Eyadéma would rule the country from 1967 until 2005. Olympio’s family remained in exile for much of that period and only returned to the country with democratic openings at the end of Eyadéma’s rule. Olympio’s son, Gilchrist Olympio, is the head of the party Union of Forces for Change and has led the main opposition in Togo since the mid-1990s.

Political career

Olympio became active in the domestic and international struggle to gain independence for Togo following World War II. Since Togo was not formally a French colony, but was a trustee under the rules of the League of Nations and then the United Nations, Olympio petitioned the United Nations Trusteeship Council for a host of issues pushing toward independence. His 1947 petition to the Trusteeship Council was the first petition for resolution of grievances taken to the United Nations. Domestically he founded the Comité de l’unité togolaise (CUT) which became the major party opposing French control over Togo.

Olympio’s party boycotted elections during the 1950s within Togo because of heavy French involvement in the elections (including the 1956 election that made Nicolas Grunitzky, the brother to Olympio’s wife, the Prime Minister of the colony as head of the Togolese Progress Party). In 1954, Olympio was arrested by the French authorities and his right to vote and run for office were suspended. However, his petitions to the Trusteeship Council led to the 1958 elections where French control over the elections were limited, although involvement remained significant, and Olympio’s CUT party was able to win every elected position in the national council. The French were then forced to restore Olympio’s right to hold office and he became the Prime Minister of the Togo colony and began pressing for independence.

From 1958 until 1961 he served as the Prime Minister of Togo and also served as the Minister of Finance, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Minister of Justice for the colony. He connected with many of the other independence struggles throughout the continent; for example making Ahmed Sékou Touré, first President of Guinea, conseiller special to his government in 1960. In 1961, as part of the transition of power away from French control, the country voted for a President and affirmed the Constitution developed by Olympio and his party. Olympio defeated Grunitzky with over 90% of the vote to become the first president of Togo and the Constitution was approved.

Togo-Ghana relations

One of the defining dynamics during Olympio’s Presidency was the tense relationship between Ghana and Togo. Kwame Nkrumah and Olympio were initially allies working together to gain independence for their neighboring countries; however, the two leaders split when fighting over the eastern part of the German colony which had become part of the British Gold Coast and eventually part of Ghana. The division resulted in splitting up the land of the Ewe people. Nkrumah proposed openly that Togo become part of Ghana while Olympio sought to have the eastern part of the German colony returned to Togo. The relationship became quite tense with Olympio referring to Nkrumah as a "black imperialist" and Nkrumah repeatedly threatening Olympio’s government.