Eyadema

Gnassingbé Eyadéma (born Étienne Eyadéma Gnassingbé, 26 December 1935 – 5 February 2005) was a Togolese military officer and politician who served as the third president of Togo from 1967 until his death in 2005, after which he was immediately succeeded by his son, Faure Gnassingbé. Eyadéma participated in two successful military coups, in January 1963 and January 1967, and became president on 14 April 1967. As president, he created a political party, the Rally of the Togolese People (RPT), and headed an anti-communist one-party state until the early 1990s, when reforms leading to multiparty elections began. […]

Text: Wikipédia, CC BY-SA 4.0, excerpt · Portrait: SrA Felicia Wilson, Public domain