fwo_557891 - TOGO 5000 Francs Président Eyadema 1977

TOGO - GNASSINGBE EYADEMA

(1935-2005)

Born on December 26, 1935 in Pya in northern Togo, Étienne Gnassingbé Eyadema comes from a modest peasant family. A soldier in the French colonial army, he served in Indochina and then in Algeria. In 1962, following independence, he returned to Togo. In 1963, he participated in the assassination of the first Togolese president, Sylvanus Olympio. In 1963, he joined the Togolese army and in 1965 became chief of the army staff with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. On January 13, 1967, Gnassingbé Eyadéma overthrew Nicolas Grunitzky, second President of the Republic and took power. He officially becomes president on April 13. Escaping several attacks and having been regularly re-elected in contested elections, he died in office in 2005. His son Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé succeeded him..