Kléber Dadjo (12 August 1914 – 23 September 1988 or 23 September 1989) was a Togolese politician and military officer who served as Interim President of

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

in his role as Chairman of the National Reconciliation Committee from 14 January 1967 to 14 April 1967 following the overthrow of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Nicolas Grunitzky Nicolas Grunitzky (; 5 April 1913 – 27 September 1969) was the second president of Togo and its third head of state. He was President from 1963 to 1967. Grunitzky was Prime Minister of Togo from 1956 to 1958 under the French Colonial ''loi ...

's government.

Biography

Kléber Dadjo was born in Siou on 12 August 1914. He was of the Nawde (or Losso) ethnic and linguistic group. Dadjo served in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and in the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...

in the

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...

and

Algerian Algerian may refer to: * Something of, or related to Algeria * Algerian people This article is about the demographic features of the population of Algeria, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, econo ...

conflicts. At the time of Togo's independence in 1960, he was the longest-serving and highest-

ranking A ranking is a relationship between a set of items such that, for any two items, the first is either "ranked higher than", "ranked lower than" or "ranked equal to" the second. In mathematics, this is known as a weak order or total preorder of o ...

Togolese in the French Army. He held the rank of Captain and commanded Togo's tiny defence force, the ''Garde Togolaise''. He was promoted to Major and eventually to Colonel after the 1963 ''coup d'état'' and served as head of the military cabinet of President

. After the second military

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

on 13 January 1967, Dadjo was named interim President of Togo (as Chairman of the ''Comité National de Reconciliation''), a position that he held until 14 April 1967, when Lt. Col. Gnassingbé Etienne Eyadéma was named president. From 1967 to 1968 he served as Minister of Justice and as ''Chef du Cabinet Militaire de la Présidence de la République''. In 1968, Dadjo retired and returned to his home in Siou where he became ''Chef de Canton''. Dadjo died on 23 September 1988 or 23 September 1989. In 2006, Dadjo was recognised by the government of President

Faure Gnassingbé Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé Eyadéma (; born 6 June 1966"Biographie de nouve ...

along with former presidents

Sylvanus Olympio Sylvanus Épiphanio Olympio (; 6 September 1902 – 13 January 1963) was a Togolese politician who served as prime minister, and then president, of Togo from 1958 until his assassination in 1963. He came from the important Olympio family, wh ...

and Nicolas Grunitzky and former Vice-President Antoine Méatchi as part of a decision to rehabilitate the image of Togo's previous leaders. The former ''avenue de la Nouvelle Marche'' in

Lomé Lomé is the capital and largest city of Togo. It has an urban population of 837,437

was renamed ''avenue Kléber Dadjo'' in his honor. Dadjo is frequently and erroneously identified in print as a Kabyé rather than a Nawde (or Losso).Sources include: Decalo, Samuel, ''Historical Dictionary of Togo, Third Edition'', Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 1996, pp. 106–107.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dadjo, Kleber British Army personnel of World War II French military personnel of the First Indochina War French military personnel of the Algerian War Togolese politicians Togolese military personnel 1914 births 1980s deaths People from Kara Region