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Presidential Council (Benin)
The Presidential Council (french: link=no, Conseil Présidentiel) was a triumvirate system of government in the Republic of Dahomey (present-day Benin) from 7 May 1970 until 26 October 1972. The Presidential Council included Hubert Maga (former president from 1960-1963), Justin Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin (former prime minister from 1964-1965), and Sourou-Migan Apithy (former president from 1964-1965) as equal members of a council which held all legislative and executive power in the state of Dahomey. Following independence from France, the Republic of Dahomey saw a division of the country between different political/ethnic parties with one party representing the northern part of the country, one party representing the former Kingdom of Dahomey in the southwest, and one party representing Porto-Novo in the southeast. The result was a highly unstable system of governance with the leaders of each of these different parties struggling with each other for power. Hubert Maga from the north w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rassemblement Démocratique Du Dahomé
The Dahomeyan Democratic Rally (french: Rassemblement Démocratique Dahoméen, RDD) was a political party in French Dahomey led by Hubert Maga. History The party was established in August 1957 by a merger of the Dahomeyan Democratic Movement led by Maga and the Independents of the North party led by Paul Darboux.Mathurin C Houngnikpo & Samuel Decalo (2012) ''Historical Dictionary of Benin'', Scarecrow Press, p305 However, Darboux left the party shortly after its establishment and refounded his party as the Union of Independents of Dahomey. Like most other parties in Dahomey, it was a regional one and was heavily backed by the northern section of the French colony (particularly among the Bariba) without much support elsewhere. However, it suffered from internal rivalries between factions based in Parakou and Nikki and conflict between the Bariba and Dendi. In 1958 the party merged with the Yoruba-dominated Republican Party of Dahomey (PRD) led by Sourou-Migan Apithy to for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Natitingou
Natitingou, informally referred to as Nati, is a city and commune in north western Benin and the capital of Atakora Department. The commune covers an area of 3045 square kilometres and as of 2013 had a population of 104,010 people. History The town was founded by the Waama ethnic groups but is populated with Ditammari, Dendi, Nateni, Fulani, Fon, and many other ethnic groups. According to popular etymology, the town takes its name from the word ''Nantibatingou'', from the Waama root "''Nanto''" meaning to crush, as the local people were renowned growers of sorghum which was native to the area and later millet. Natitingou is evenly divided between Christians and Muslims and, like the rest of Benin, is notable for its ethnic and religious tolerance. The mountains surrounding the region to the east and west sides are important in local animists, who believe them to be inhabited by spirits. Certain people subscribe to the idea that during the evening these spirits emit sounds sim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1967 Dahomeyan Coup D'état
Christophe Soglo (28 June 1909 – 7 October 1983) was a Beninese military officer and political leader. Early life Christophe Soglo was born on 28 June 1909 in Abomey, French Dahomey to a chiefly Fon family. Military career In 1931 Soglo voluntarily enlisted in the French Army. He fought during World War II, serving in Morocco and participating in the Allies' landings in Corsica, Elba, and southern France. Promoted to the rank of lieutenant, at the end of the war he was made a staff officer for the French Colonial Army. In 1947 he was attached to the French Ministry of Overseas as a military advisor. Securing the rank of captain on 1 January 1950, he was sent to French Indochina and fought in First Indochina War. He was awarded the Croix de Guerre in 1956 for his service during the war. While there he met a French-Vietnamese woman whom he later married. Following France's defeat in Indochina he was given the rank of major and stationed in Senegal, where he remained until 1960 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1965 Dahomeyan Coup D'état
Christophe Soglo (28 June 1909 – 7 October 1983) was a Beninese military officer and political leader. Early life Christophe Soglo was born on 28 June 1909 in Abomey, French Dahomey to a chiefly Fon family. Military career In 1931 Soglo voluntarily enlisted in the French Army. He fought during World War II, serving in Morocco and participating in the Allies' landings in Corsica, Elba, and southern France. Promoted to the rank of lieutenant, at the end of the war he was made a staff officer for the French Colonial Army. In 1947 he was attached to the French Ministry of Overseas as a military advisor. Securing the rank of captain on 1 January 1950, he was sent to French Indochina and fought in First Indochina War. He was awarded the Croix de Guerre in 1956 for his service during the war. While there he met a French-Vietnamese woman whom he later married. Following France's defeat in Indochina he was given the rank of major and stationed in Senegal, where he remained until 1960 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1963 Dahomeyan Coup D'état
The 1963 Dahomeyan coup d'état was staged on October 28, 1963, by Christophe Soglo, who took control of the Republic of Dahomey to prevent a civil war. He overthrew Hubert Maga, whose presidency faced extreme economic stagnation and a host of other problems. Background The West African colony of French Dahomey, the present-day nation of Benin, was largely ignored by the French during its colonial era in French West Africa.. Dahomey had a weak economy due to a lack of known natural resources. The last time the colony had a favorable trade balance was in 1924. Its main export was intellectuals, and was known as the Latin Quarter of Africa due to its rich cultural landscape.. On August 1, 1960, Dahomey gained its independence and prominent politician Hubert Maga was chosen as its first president.. At the time, Dahomey was also facing a major economic recession and after independence, France stopped subsidies. Maga helped counter this by investing in infrastructure and encouraging ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dahomeyan Parliamentary Election, 1960
Parliamentary elections were held in the Republic of Dahomey on 11 December 1960. The result was a victory for the Dahomeyan Unity Party (PDU), a merger of the Dahomeyan Democratic Rally and the Dahomey Nationalist Party, which won all 60 seats. Voter turnout was 71.0%. The leader of the winning party would become president. As head of the PDU list, Hubert Maga Coutoucou Hubert Maga (August 10, 1916 – May 8, 2000) was a politician from Dahomey (now known as Benin).Dahomey was renamed Benin in 1975. Se''New York Times'' obituary He arose on a political scene where one's power was dictated by what regi ... was elected.Nohlen ''et al.'', p93 Results References {{Beninese elections Dahomey Elections in Benin 1960 in the Republic of Dahomey National Assembly (Benin) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul-Émile De Souza
Paul-Émile de Souza (July 14, 1930 – June 17, 1999) was a Beninese army officer and political figure. He was chairman of the Directory of Dahomey from December 13, 1969 to May 7, 1970. Birth and family Paul-Emile de Souza was born into the aristocratic De Souza family on July 14, 1930. His birthplace was Athiémè, Dahomey. His wife was Françoise De Souza. Military career In 1966, de Souza was selected as vice president of the ''Comité de Rénovation Nationale'', as well as being one of the three officers on the Comité.. It had very few functions other than to advise Christophe Soglo and was abolished on April 6, 1967. When Soglo was overthrown later that year, de Souza was chosen as Emile Derlin Zinsou's Director of Military Affairs. For the most part de Souza tried to stay out of politics if he could. and led the parachutist unit at Ouidah. Chairmanship On December 10, 1969, Émile Derlin Zinsou was overthrown by Maurice Kouandété, though the military did not recogni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maurice Kouandété
Iropa Maurice Kouandété (22 September 1932 – 7 April 2003) was a military officer and politician in Benin (known as Dahomey until 1975). He was born to Somba parents in the Gaba District of Dahomey. Kouandété enrolled in the army in his late teens. Over the years, he became popular among junior soldiers in the north and gained the contempt of those in the south. Jim Hoagland of ''The Washington Post'' described Kouandété as a "moody, brilliant and highly ambitious soldier". On 17 December 1967 Kouandété led a military coup and toppled President Christophe Soglo. Kouandété seized the presidency, although he was unsure how to wield it. He handed power to Alphonse Alley two days later, and forced him to retire in 1968 in favor of Kouandété's choice, Emile Derlin Zinsou. Kouandété was appointed chief of staff of Dahomey's 1,500-man army and launched another coup against Zinsou, on 10 December 1969, to defend it. The military did not recognise Kouandété as leg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Émile Derlin Zinsou
Émile Derlin Zinsou (23 March 1918 – 28 July 2016) was a Beninese politician and physician who was the President of Dahomey (now Benin) from 17 July 1968 until 10 December 1969, supported by the military regime that took power in 1967. Zinsou was present at the signing of the treaty that formed the African Union on 12 July 2000 in Togo. Biography Early life and medical career Zinsou was born in Ouidah on 23 March 1918. He was educated at Porto Novo and the Ecole William Ponty in Senegal. He studied medicine at the Dakar Medical College and qualified as a doctor. Zinsou was a physician in the French army from 1939 to 1940. Afterwards he operated a private practice and began to become involved in colonial politics.Houngnikpo & Decalo 2013, p. 373. Political career and presidency Zinsou was one of the founders of Dahomey's first political party, the Union Progressiste Dahoméenne (UPD). He was an assistant to Sourou-Migan Apithy in 1945 and was a deputy to the French National ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alphonse Alley
Alphonse Amadou Alley (April 9, 1930 – March 28, 1987) was a Beninese army officer and political figure. He was most active when his country was known as Dahomey. He was born in Bassila, central Dahomey, and enrolled in schools in Togo, Cote d'Ivoire, and Senegal before enlisting in the French army in 1950. He saw combat in Indochina from 1950 to 1953, in Morocco from 1955 to 1956, and in Algeria from 1959 to 1961. After the coup in 1965, President Christophe Soglo promoted Alley Chief of Staff of the Army. Young army officer Maurice Kouandété was appointed Alley's ''chef de cabinet'' in 1967. Kouandété launched another coup against Soglo on December 17, but he was forced to hand power to Alley two days later. His administration oversaw the creation of a new constitution and a presidential election, Dahomey's first since 1964. The results were annulled because of a boycott that prevented almost three-quarters of the country from voting. Alley lost popularity with the sugg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christophe Soglo
Christophe Soglo (28 June 1909 – 7 October 1983) was a Beninese military officer and political leader. Early life Christophe Soglo was born on 28 June 1909 in Abomey, French Dahomey to a chiefly Fon family. Military career In 1931 Soglo voluntarily enlisted in the French Army. He fought during World War II, serving in Morocco and participating in the Allies' landings in Corsica, Elba, and southern France. Promoted to the rank of lieutenant, at the end of the war he was made a staff officer for the French Colonial Army. In 1947 he was attached to the French Ministry of Overseas as a military advisor. Securing the rank of captain on 1 January 1950, he was sent to French Indochina and fought in First Indochina War. He was awarded the Croix de Guerre in 1956 for his service during the war. While there he met a French-Vietnamese woman whom he later married. Following France's defeat in Indochina he was given the rank of major and stationed in Senegal, where he remained until 196 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
