Marie Madoé Sivomey (July 3, 1923 – September 15, 2008), born Marie Madoé Gbikpi–Benissan, was a Togolese politician who was the first woman to serve as a mayor in

Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...

, overseeing the capital,

Lomé Lomé ( , ) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities in Togo, largest city of Togo. It has an urban population of 837,437

, from 1967 to 1974.

Early life and education

She was born in 1923 in a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

family in

Aného Aného, previously known as Anecho, Petit Popo or Little Popo, is a town in southeastern Togo, lying on the Gulf of Guinea near the border of Benin. It is situated 45 km east of the capital Lomé, between the Atlantic Ocean and Lake Togo in ...

, a town in southeastern Togo's

Maritime region Maritime Region () is the southernmost of Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkin ...

, the spiritual center of the Guin-Mina people. Her brother, Jean Kuassi Gbikpi, would later become archbishop of Lomé. After beginning her primary studies in Aného, she graduated in

Porto-Novo , , ; ; ; also known as Hogbonu and Ajashe) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities in Benin, second-largest city of Benin. The commune covers an area of and as of 2002 had a population of 223,552 people. In 1863, following Bri ...

Benin Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its po ...

. She then attended the Cours Complémentaire in Lomé.

Career as civil servant

Sivomey was hired by the French colonial administration as a civil servant, working in the Finance Department from 1940 to 1945. She continued this Finance Department work under the framework of

French West Africa French West Africa (, ) was a federation of eight French colonial empires#Second French colonial empire, French colonial territories in West Africa: Colonial Mauritania, Mauritania, French Senegal, Senegal, French Sudan (now Mali), French Guin ...

from 1945 until 1953, including in the Direct Tax Department of the city of

Bobo-Dioulasso Bobo-Dioulasso ( , ) is a city in Burkina Faso with a population of 1,129,000 (); it is the second-largest city in the country, after Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso's capital. The name means "home of the Bobo- Dioula". The local Bobo-speaking pop ...

, in what is now

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...

. She returned permanently to Togo, which gained independence from France in 1960, and supported the leadership of the country's Direct Tax Department from 1960 to 1962. She then worked as chief administrative secretary and then director of social affairs starting in 1963. At the same time, she represented Togo at various symposiums and congresses, and in 1961 she became the first Togolese woman to participate in a session of the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...

. It was in this period that she also helped organize L'Union des Femmes du Togo (UFEMTO), the Union of Togolese Women, alongside Marguerite Adjoavi Thompson-Trénou and other women activists.

Mayor of Lomé

Following the January

1967 Togolese coup d'état The 1967 Togolese coup d'état was a bloodless military coup that occurred in the West African country of Togo on 13 January 1967. The leader of the coup, Lieutenant Colonel Étienne Eyadéma (later General Gnassingbé Eyadéma) ousted Togo's sec ...

and the ascent to power of President

Gnassingbé Eyadéma 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 immed ...

, all the country's elected bodies were dissolved, political parties were banned, and the administration of Togo's communes fell to ''délégations spéciales'', or special delegations. In this fraught context, Marie Madoé Sivomey was designated mayor of Lomé on July 24, 1967, based on her extensive experience as a civil servant. "Among the potential candidates for the post of mayor, I was the most experienced in the workings of the administration, having previously overseen social services," she later said. She held the position until May 17, 1974.

Later years

In her retirement, Sivomey lived in Lom-Nava. She was heavily involved in her local parish, as a deeply religious woman who was at times criticized by the country's youth for her moralizing stances. She also continued to advocate on behalf of Togolese women, particularly in support of women's education. She died on September 15, 2008, in Lomé.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sivomey, Marie Madoe 1923 births 2008 deaths 20th-century Togolese women politicians 20th-century Togolese politicians Togolese expatriates in Burkina Faso 21st-century Togolese people People from Aného