List of presidents of Togo

This is a list of presidents of Togo since the formation of the post of president in 1960, to the present day.

President of the Togolese Republic Président de la République togolaise
Coat of arms of Togo
Incumbent Faure Gnassingbé since 4 May 2005
Residence	Palace of the Governors, Lomé
Term length	5 years
Inaugural holder	Sylvanus Olympio
Formation	27 April 1960

A total of four people have served as president (not counting one acting president and two interim military officeholders). Additionally, one person, Faure Gnassingbé, has served on two non-consecutive occasions.

Gnassingbé is the incumbent president, since 4 May 2005.

Description of the office

Election

The president of the Republic is elected by universal, direct and secret suffrage for a mandate of five (05) years.[1]

He is re-eligible.[1]

The election of the president of the Republic takes place by uninominal majority ballot in one (01) round.[2]

The president of the Republic is elected with the majority of the suffrage expressed.[2]

The vote is opened on convocation of the electoral body by decree taken in the Council of Ministers sixty (60) days at least and seventy-five (75) days at most before the expiration of the mandate of the president in office.[3]

No one may be a candidate for the office of the president of the Republic if they:[4]

1. are not exclusively of Togolese nationality by birth;
2. are not thirty-five (35) years of age on the date of the deposit of the candidature;
3. do not enjoy all their civil and political rights;
4. do not present a general state of physical and mental well-being duly declared by three (03) sworn physicians, designated by the Constitutional Court;
5. do not reside in the national territory for at least twelve (12) months.

The president of the Republic enters office within the fifteen days which follow the proclamation of the results of the presidential election.[5]

Oath of office

Before his entry into office, the president of the Republic swears before the Constitutional Court meeting in solemn hearing, in these terms:[6]

Before God and before the Togolese people, sole holders of popular sovereignty, We _____, elected President of the Republic in accordance with the laws of the Republic, solemnly swear.

— to respect and to defend the Constitution that the Togolese people have freely given themselves;

— to loyally fulfill the high functions that the Nation has confided in us.

— to be guided solely by the general interest and the respect of the rights of the human person, to consecrate all our forces to the promotion of development, of the common good, of peace and of national unity;

— to preserve the integrity of the national territory;

— to conduct our self at all times, as a faithful and loyal servant of the People.

Vacancy

In case of a vacancy of the presidency of the Republic by death, resignation or definitive incapacity, the presidential function is exercised provisionally by the president of the National Assembly.[7]

The vacancy is declared by the Constitutional Court referred to [the matter] by the Government.[7]

The Government convokes the electoral body within the sixty (60) days of the opening of the vacancy for the election of a new president of the Republic.[7]

List of officeholders

Key

Political parties

•   Committee of Togolese Unity (CUT)
•   Togolese People's Movement (MPT)
•   Rally of the Togolese People (RPT)
•   Union for the Republic (UNIR)

Other factions

•   Military

Status

•   Denotes Acting/Interim head of State

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Elected	Term of office			Political party	Prime minister(s)
				Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Sylvanus Olympio (1902–1963)	1961	27 April 1960	13 January 1963 (assassinated.)	2 years, 261 days	CUT	Himself
–		Emmanuel Bodjollé (1928–)[lower-alpha 1]	—	13 January 1963	15 January 1963	2 days	Military	Position abolished
2		Nicolas Grunitzky (1913–1969)	1963	16 January 1963	13 January 1967 (deposed.)	3 years, 362 days	MPT	Position abolished
–		Kléber Dadjo (1914–1988/89)[lower-alpha 2]	—	16 January 1967	14 April 1967	91 days	Military	Position abolished
3		Gnassingbé Eyadéma (1935–2005)[lower-alpha 3]	1972 1979 1986 1993 1998 2003	14 April 1967	5 February 2005 (died in office.)	37 years, 297 days	Military / RPT	Koffigoh E. Kodjo Klutse Adoboli A. Kodjo Sama
4		Faure Gnassingbé (1966–)[lower-alpha 4]	—	5 February 2005[lower-alpha 5]	25 February 2005 (resigned.)[lower-alpha 6]	20 days	RPT	Sama
–		Bonfoh Abass (1948–)[lower-alpha 7]	—	25 February 2005	4 May 2005	68 days	RPT	Sama
(4)		Faure Gnassingbé (1966–)[lower-alpha 4]	2005 2010 2015 2020	4 May 2005	Incumbent	15 years, 103 days	RPT / UNIR	Sama E. Kodjo Agboyibo Mally Houngbo Ahoomey-Zunu Klassou

Notes

1. Styled as Chairman of the Insurrection Committee.
2. Styled as Chairman of the National Reconciliation Committee.
3. Previously named Étienne Eyadéma; changed name on 8 May 1974 due to the policy of Africanization, and to commemorate survival of a crash of his Douglas C-47 Skytrain presidential plane on 24 January 1974.
4. Son of Gnassingbé Eyadéma.
5. Proclaimed president by General Zakari Nandja, Chief of Staff of the Togolese Armed Forces, and confirmed by the National Assembly.
6. Stepped down due to heavy regional pressure, caused over doubts regarding the constitutional legitimacy of his succession.
7. Succeeded Eyadéma as the constitutional successor, President of the National Assembly.

Latest election

Main article: 2020 Togolese presidential election

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Faure Gnassingbé	Union for the Republic	1,760,309	70.78
	Agbéyomé Kodjo	Patriotic Movement for Democracy and Development	483,926	19.46
	Jean-Pierre Fabre	National Alliance for Change	116,336	4.68
	Aimé Gogué	Alliance of Democrats for Integral Development	57,777	2.40
	Wolou Komi	Socialist Pact for Renewal	29,791	1.20
	Georges Williams Kuessan	Santé du Peuple	19,923	0.80
	Tchassona Traoré	Civic Movement for Democracy and Development	16,814	0.68
Invalid/blank votes			963,413	–
Total			3,449,989	100
Registered voters/turnout			3,738,786	92.28
Source: Constitutional Court

See also

• Togo
  • List of prime ministers of Togo
  • List of colonial governors of Togo
  • Politics of Togo
• Lists of office-holders

References

1. Article 59 of the Constitution of 1992.
2. Article 60 of the Constitution of 1992.
3. Article 61 of the Constitution of 1992.
4. Article 62 of the Constitution of 1992.
5. Article 63 of the Constitution of 1992.
6. Article 64 of the Constitution of 1992.
7. Article 65 of the Constitution of 1992.

External links

• World Statesmen – Togo
• 1992 Constitution of Togo (as amended in 2007)(in English)