List of presidents of Togo

President of the Togolese Republic
Président de la République togolaise
Presidential Standard
Incumbent Faure Gnassingbé since 4 May 2005
Type	Head of state Commander-in-chief
Residence	New Presidential Palace, Lomé
Appointer	National Assembly
Term length	6 years, non-renewable
Formation	27 April 1960
First holder	Sylvanus Olympio

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

A total of four people have served as president (not counting one acting president and two interim military officeholders). Additionally, one person, Faure Gnassingbé, the current president, has served on two non-consecutive occasions: first from the death of his father, Gnassingbé Eyadema, on 5 February 2005 until his resignation 20 days later on 25 February and the second one since 4 May 2005.

Togo has, for most of its independence, had a presidential system in which the president was not only the head of state, but also the head of government and that the role had much power over both domestic and foreign policy. However, constitutional reforms adopted in April 2024 reduced the president's powers, made the role more ceremonial, and moved the country towards a more parliamentary system. While the role became ceremonial, the president is still the commander-in-chief of the Togolese Armed Forces and still has the power to appoint or dismiss the prime minister. The reform also changed the way the president is elected, from being directly elected by citizens to being indirectly elected by the National Assembly.^[1][2]

Description of the office

Election

The president of the Republic is elected by universal, direct and secret suffrage for a mandate of five years.^[3]

He is re-eligible.^[3] As of 2021, there is a two-term limit for the president in the Constitution of Togo which was reinstated in 2019. This limit has been lifted for Gnassingbé Eyadéma in 2002 and for Faure Gnassingbé in 2019.^[4]

The election of the president of the Republic takes place by uninominal majority ballot in one round.^[5]

The president of the Republic is elected with the majority of the suffrage expressed.^[5]

The vote is opened on convocation of the electoral body by decree taken in the Council of Ministers 60 days at least and 75 days at most before the expiration of the mandate of the president in office.^[6]

No one may be a candidate for the office of the president of the Republic if they:^[7]

1. are not exclusively of Togolese nationality by birth;
2. are not 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 sworn physicians, designated by the Constitutional Court;
5. do not reside in the national territory for at least 12 months.

The president of the Republic enters office within 15 days which follows the proclamation of the results of the presidential election.^[8]

However, following the constitutional reform in 2024, the election system has changed which means that the president is now indirectly elected by the National Assembly.

Oath of office

Before he enters into office, the president of the Republic swears before the Constitutional Court meeting in solemn hearing, in these terms:^[9]

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 fulfil 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 national unity;

— to preserve the integrity of the national territory;

— to conduct ourselves 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.^[10]

The vacancy is declared by the Constitutional Court referred to [the matter] by the Government.^[10]

The Government convokes the electoral body within sixty (60) days of the opening of the vacancy for the election of a new president of the Republic.^[10]

Residences

After independence, the President of Togo used the Palace of the Governors as an office and residence. The Palace was formerly used by both German and French colonial administrators. In 1970, President Gnassingbé Eyadéma moved into a new Presidential Palace built near the Palace of the Governors. Another residence used by the Gnassingbé Eyadéma was the Presidential Residence of Lomé II. In 2006, a new Presidential Palace, financed by China, was inaugurated by President Faure Gnassingbé on the outskirts of Lomé.^[11]

List of officeholders

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

Symbols

^§ Elected unopposed

^P Presidential referendum

^† Died in office

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 in a coup)	2 years, 261 days	CUT	Himself
–		Emmanuel Bodjollé (1928–?)[a]	—	13 January 1963	15 January 1963	2 days	Military	Position abolished
2		Nicolas Grunitzky (1913–1969)	1963^[§]	16 January 1963	13 January 1967 (Deposed in a coup)	3 years, 362 days	MPT	Position abolished
–		Kléber Dadjo (1914–1988/89)[b]	—	16 January 1967	14 April 1967	91 days	Military	Position abolished
3		Gnassingbé Eyadéma (1935–2005)[c]	—	14 April 1967	5 February 2005^[†]	37 years, 297 days	Military (until 1969)	Koffigoh E. Kodjo Klutse Adoboli A. Kodjo Sama
			1972^[P] 1979^[§] 1986^[§] 1993 1998 2003				RPT
4		Faure Gnassingbé (born 1966)[d]	—	5 February 2005[e]	25 February 2005 (Resigned)[f]	20 days	RPT	Sama
–		Bonfoh Abass (1948–2021)[g]	—	25 February 2005	4 May 2005	68 days	RPT	Sama
(4)		Faure Gnassingbé (born 1966)[d]	2005 2010	4 May 2005	Incumbent	19 years, 243 days	RPT (until 2012)	Sama E. Kodjo Agboyibo Mally Houngbo Ahoomey-Zunu Klassou Dogbé
			2015 2020				UNIR

Timeline

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	59,777	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
Total			2,486,876	100.00
Valid votes			2,486,876	89.80
Invalid/blank votes			282,411	10.20
Total votes			2,769,287	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			3,614,056	76.63
Source: Constitutional Court

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.

See also

• Vice President of Togo
• List of prime ministers of Togo
• List of colonial governors of Togo
• Politics of Togo

References

1. "Togo Revises Constitution to Eliminate Term Limits: An Explainer". Africa Center for Strategic Studies. 23 April 2024.
2. "Togo has adopted major constitutional changes to give parliament more power: how it will work". The Conversation. 30 April 2024.
3. Article 59 of the Constitution of 1992.
4. Cook, Candace; Siegle, Joseph. "Circumvention of Term Limits Weakens Governance in Africa". Africa Center for Strategic Studies.
5. Article 60 of the Constitution of 1992.
6. Article 61 of the Constitution of 1992.
7. Article 62 of the Constitution of 1992.
8. Article 63 of the Constitution of 1992.
9. Article 64 of the Constitution of 1992.
10. Article 65 of the Constitution of 1992.
11. "Le président Faure inaugure le palais présidentiel construit avec l'aide chinoise". www.mfa.gov.cn. Retrieved 20 June 2022.

External links

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