Benoît Sinzogan
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Benoît Sinzogan (July 14, 1930 – January 11, 2021) was a Beninese military officer and politician, best known for leading his country's gendarmerie in the late 1960s. He was a member of the Fon ethnic group, which dominated the Beninese (then known as Dahomeyan) army from 1965 to 1967. After
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 ...
usurped the presidency on December 17, Sinzogan was placed under house arrest until December 19. That day, Sinzogan was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs, his first political post, which he held until July 1968. He was a member of the Military Directorate, which ruled Dahomey from 1969 to 1970. Academic Samuel Decalo described the man as "too timid to mount a coup" during the 1960s and 1970s, being "one of Dahomey's few senior officers not to attempt to."


Military background

Sinzogan was born on July 14, 1930, in Abomey, Dahomey. He was a member of the Fon ethnic group, which dominated the Beninese (then known as Dahomeyan) army from 1965 to 1967. Sinzogan was General Christophe Soglo's aide and commander of the First Battalion in Cotonou.. Sinzogan's rise to power occurred during a period of intense regionalism in Dahomey. They were spurred on by the historical resentment shared by members of the former kingdoms of
Abomey Abomey is the capital of the Zou Department of Benin. The commune of Abomey covers an area of 142 square kilometres and, as of 2012, had a population of 90,195 people. Abomey houses the Royal Palaces of Abomey, a collection of small traditional ...
,
Porto Novo Porto-Novo (Portuguese: "New Port", , ; yo, Àjàṣẹ́, ), also known as Hogbonu and Ajashe, is the capital of Benin. The commune covers an area of and as of 2002 had a population of 223,552 people. Situated on an inlet of the Gulf of G ...
, and disorganised tribes from the north.. Its result was the creation of three ''de facto'' tribal zones: the north, southeast, and southwest.. This regionalism permeated into the armed forces, compounded by divisions of officers into cliques based on education. Hachème was a member of what Decalo called the Abomey clique, which also included prominent officers Philippe Aho, Jean-Baptiste Hachème, and Benoit Adandejan. He was the original head of the Comité Militare de Vigilance when it was established on April 6, 1967, which was set up to administer President Christophe Soglo's regime.
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 ...
was established as his vice president. As corruption began to seep in, the Comite lost its value.. After Kouandete usurped the presidency on December 17, Sinzogan was placed under house arrest at the Ghezo military camp until December 19.


Political career

That day, Sinzogan was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs, his first political post, which he held until July 1968. In September, he was named the leader of the national police. He held that office until August 1970, during which time he was given the post of president of the gendarmerie.. On December 10, 1969, Kouandété staged another coup, against then-president
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. A Military Directorate was formed on December 13 to administer Dahomey in the aftermath.. Sinzogan was a member, the head of the ministries of Justice, Foreign Affairs, and Education. When
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 proclaimed head of a Presidential Council on May 7, 1970, Sinzogan lost that post. Sinzogan was alternate judge of the military trial convened in 1972 to address an attempted coup that Kouandété tried to perpetrate. He handed the death penalty to Kouandété and two of his companions. In October, when
Mathieu Kérékou Mathieu Kérékou (; 2 September 1933 – 14 October 2015) was a Beninese politician who served as President of Benin from 1972 to 1991 and again from 1996 to 2006. After seizing power in a military coup, he ruled the country for 19 years, for ...
seized power in a coup, Sinzogan was removed from the military and appointed commissioner of the National Society of the Development of the Forest (S.N.A.F.O.R.). Academic Samuel Decalo described the man as "too timid to mount a coup" during the 1960s and 1970s, being "one of Dahomey's few senior officers not to attempt to."


References


Bibliography

* . * . * . {{DEFAULTSORT:Sinzogan, Benoit 1930 births 2021 deaths Foreign ministers of Benin Beninese military personnel People from Abomey Fon people 20th-century Beninese politicians