Agbeyome Kodjo
Encyclopedia
Messan Agbéyomé Gabriel Kodjo (born 12 October 1954) is a Togo
lese politician who served as Prime Minister of Togo
from 29 August 2000 to 27 June 2002.
and received a degree in organizational management from the University of Poitiers
in January 1983.
Back in Togo, Kodjo was Commercial Director of SONACOM from 1985 to 1988 before President Gnassingbé Eyadéma
appointed him to the government as Minister of Youth, Sports, and Culture on 19 December 1988. He remained in that post until September 1991, when a transitional government led by Prime Minister Joseph Kokou Koffigoh
took office. He was appointed as Minister of Territorial Administration and Security in September 1992, but Koffigoh dismissed him, along with another member of the Rally of the Togolese People
(RPT), Minister of Communications and Culture Benjamin Agbéka, on 9 November 1992. Kodjo and Agbéka, with Eyadéma's support, refused to leave the government, despite protests and Koffigoh's intent to take the matter to the Supreme Court; Kodjo remained in his position until February 1993, when he became Director-General of the Autonomous Port of Lomé
.
Kodjo served for more than six years as Director-General of the Autonomous Port of Lomé. In the March 1999 parliamentary election
, he was elected to the National Assembly
as the RPT candidate in the Third Constituency of Yoto Prefecture; he was the only candidate and received 100% of the vote. Following the election, he was elected as President of the National Assembly in June 1999. After a little over a year in that position, President Eyadéma appointed Kodjo as Prime Minister on 29 August 2000, replacing Eugene Koffi Adoboli
after Adoboli was defeated in a no-confidence vote.
Kodjo said on 30 August 2001 that the Constitution should be changed to enable Eyadéma to run for a third term in 2003. Although Kodjo was widely speculated to be Eyadéma's intended successor after he became Prime Minister, he and Eyadéma came into conflict, and he was dismissed as Prime Minister by Eyadéma on 27 June 2002, reportedly due to differences within the RPT. In an article published in Le Scorpion newspaper on 28 June, he criticized Eyadéma. He promptly left Togo, and in early July 2002 he was declared wanted by a court for allegedly dishonoring the President and disrupting public order. On 6 August 2002, the RPT Central Committee voted unanimously to expel Kodjo from the party, along with former National Assembly President Dahuku Péré
, for high treason; he was also expelled from the prestigious Order of Mono on 18 July.
After leaving Togo, Kodjo lived in exile in France, and from there he continued his criticisms of Eyadéma. The Togolese government issued an international arrest warrant for Kodjo in mid-September 2002, accusing him of corruption and saying that he had fled Togo to avoid prosecution for it. The government also complained about Radio France Internationale
's broadcasting of an interview with Kodjo in September, which RFI had done despite government pressure. He denounced the amendment to eliminate presidential term limits, saying that it was Fambaré Ouattara Natchaba
who initially made that proposal publicly and that he had supported the proposal at the time for internal reasons of the RPT.
Following the disputed June 2003 presidential election
, Kodjo said in an interview with the newspaper Motion d'information that, contrary to the official results, Eyadéma had actually lost the election. Accusing Eyadéma of remaining in power through violence, Kodjo said that Eyadéma should admit defeat and leave politics in order to resolve the country's political troubles and prevent war.
He returned to Togo on 8 April 2005, following Eyadéma's death, but was promptly imprisoned for alleged misappropriation of funds while serving as Director-General of the Autonomous Port of Lomé. In September 2005 he formed a new party, the Democratic Alliance for the Fatherland
(known simply as the Alliance), together with Dahuku Péré.
He later ran for election to the position of President of the Togo Football Federation, but at its extraordinary congress on 9 January 2007 he placed second behind Avlessi Adaglo Tata, receiving 14 votes from delegates against 24 for Tata; he placed ahead of Eyadéma's son Rock Gnassingbé, who was the Federation's incumbent president and received eight votes.
Kodjo announced in early August 2008 that he would stand as the candidate of a new party, the Organisation pour bâtir dans l'union un Togo solidaire (OBUTS), in the 2010 presidential election
. He formally submitted his candidacy on 14 January 2010. Although the deadline for the submission of candidacies was 15 January, Kodjo was the first person to formally submit his candidacy. Upon learning that he was first, Kodjo declared that it was "a very good sign" and that he would also be "the first" to be declared the winner of the election.
Togo
Togo, officially the Togolese Republic , is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately with a population of approximately...
lese politician who served as Prime Minister of Togo
Heads of government of Togo
-Prime Ministers of Togo :-Affiliations:*CAR *CFN *CPP...
from 29 August 2000 to 27 June 2002.
Political career
Kodjo was born in Tokpli, located in Yoto Prefecture, in 1954; his parents were Dossou Kodjo and Kédjé Flora Dosseh. He studied in FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and received a degree in organizational management from the University of Poitiers
University of Poitiers
The University of Poitiers is a university in Poitiers, France. It is a member of the Coimbra Group.-History:Founded in 1431 by Pope Eugene IV and chartered by King Charles VII, the University of Poitiers was originally composed of five faculties: theology, canon law, civil law, medicine, and...
in January 1983.
Back in Togo, Kodjo was Commercial Director of SONACOM from 1985 to 1988 before President Gnassingbé Eyadéma
Gnassingbé Eyadéma
General Gnassingbé Eyadéma , was the President of Togo from 1967 until his death in 2005. He participated in two successful military coups, in January 1963 and January 1967, and became President on April 14, 1967...
appointed him to the government as Minister of Youth, Sports, and Culture on 19 December 1988. He remained in that post until September 1991, when a transitional government led by Prime Minister Joseph Kokou Koffigoh
Joseph Kokou Koffigoh
Joseph Kokou Koffigoh is a Togolese politician who served as Prime Minister of Togo from 27 August 1991 to 25 April 1994. Elected as Prime Minister by the opposition-dominated National Conference in 1991, Koffigoh was given full executive powers and tasked with overseeing a transition to...
took office. He was appointed as Minister of Territorial Administration and Security in September 1992, but Koffigoh dismissed him, along with another member of the Rally of the Togolese People
Rally of the Togolese People
The Rally of the Togolese People is the ruling political party in Togo. The President of Togo, Faure Gnassingbé, is also the National President of the RPT....
(RPT), Minister of Communications and Culture Benjamin Agbéka, on 9 November 1992. Kodjo and Agbéka, with Eyadéma's support, refused to leave the government, despite protests and Koffigoh's intent to take the matter to the Supreme Court; Kodjo remained in his position until February 1993, when he became Director-General of the Autonomous Port of Lomé
Lomé
Lomé, with an estimated population of 737,751, is the capital and largest city of Togo. Located on the Gulf of Guinea, Lomé is the country's administrative and industrial center and its chief port. The city exports coffee, cocoa, copra, and palm kernels...
.
Kodjo served for more than six years as Director-General of the Autonomous Port of Lomé. In the March 1999 parliamentary election
Togolese parliamentary election, 1999
Parliamentary elections were held in Togo on 21 March 1999. They were boycotted by the eight opposition parties, who been rebuffed in their insistence that talks following the controversial presidential election the previous year must be completed prior to the parliamentary election...
, he was elected to the National Assembly
National Assembly of Togo
The unicameral National Assembly of Togo is the country's legislative body. It has a total of 81 members who are elected in a party list proportional representation system...
as the RPT candidate in the Third Constituency of Yoto Prefecture; he was the only candidate and received 100% of the vote. Following the election, he was elected as President of the National Assembly in June 1999. After a little over a year in that position, President Eyadéma appointed Kodjo as Prime Minister on 29 August 2000, replacing Eugene Koffi Adoboli
Eugene Koffi Adoboli
Eugene Koffi Adoboli served as Prime Minister of Togo from 21 May 1998 to 31 August 2000. He was previously an international civil servant at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in Geneva and the United Nations Joint Inspection Unit for over 40 years...
after Adoboli was defeated in a no-confidence vote.
Kodjo said on 30 August 2001 that the Constitution should be changed to enable Eyadéma to run for a third term in 2003. Although Kodjo was widely speculated to be Eyadéma's intended successor after he became Prime Minister, he and Eyadéma came into conflict, and he was dismissed as Prime Minister by Eyadéma on 27 June 2002, reportedly due to differences within the RPT. In an article published in Le Scorpion newspaper on 28 June, he criticized Eyadéma. He promptly left Togo, and in early July 2002 he was declared wanted by a court for allegedly dishonoring the President and disrupting public order. On 6 August 2002, the RPT Central Committee voted unanimously to expel Kodjo from the party, along with former National Assembly President Dahuku Péré
Dahuku Péré
Maurice Dahuku Péré is a Togolese politician who was President of the National Assembly of Togo from 1994 to 1999. He is the National President of the Democratic Alliance for the Fatherland , an opposition party....
, for high treason; he was also expelled from the prestigious Order of Mono on 18 July.
After leaving Togo, Kodjo lived in exile in France, and from there he continued his criticisms of Eyadéma. The Togolese government issued an international arrest warrant for Kodjo in mid-September 2002, accusing him of corruption and saying that he had fled Togo to avoid prosecution for it. The government also complained about Radio France Internationale
Radio France Internationale
Radio France Internationale was created in 1975 as part of Radio France by the Government of France, and replaced the Poste Colonial , Paris Mondial , Radio Paris , RTF Radio Paris and ORTF Radio Paris...
's broadcasting of an interview with Kodjo in September, which RFI had done despite government pressure. He denounced the amendment to eliminate presidential term limits, saying that it was Fambaré Ouattara Natchaba
Fambaré Ouattara Natchaba
Fambaré Ouattara Natchaba is a Togolese politician. He was the President of the National Assembly of Togo from 2000 to 2005. He is a prominent member of the ruling Rally of the Togolese People and is a member of the Pan-African Parliament representing Togo.-Political career:Natchaba was born in...
who initially made that proposal publicly and that he had supported the proposal at the time for internal reasons of the RPT.
Following the disputed June 2003 presidential election
Togolese presidential election, 2003
Presidential elections were held in Togo on 1 June 2003. The result was a victory for incumbent President Gnassingbé Eyadéma, who won 57.8% of the vote.-Results:* Gnininvi withdrew his candidacy in May but remained on the ballot paper....
, Kodjo said in an interview with the newspaper Motion d'information that, contrary to the official results, Eyadéma had actually lost the election. Accusing Eyadéma of remaining in power through violence, Kodjo said that Eyadéma should admit defeat and leave politics in order to resolve the country's political troubles and prevent war.
He returned to Togo on 8 April 2005, following Eyadéma's death, but was promptly imprisoned for alleged misappropriation of funds while serving as Director-General of the Autonomous Port of Lomé. In September 2005 he formed a new party, the Democratic Alliance for the Fatherland
Democratic Alliance for the Fatherland
The Democratic Alliance for the Fatherland is a political party in Togo. It was formed as an opposition party in September 2005 by former Prime Minister Agbéyomé Kodjo and former National Assembly President Dahuku Péré...
(known simply as the Alliance), together with Dahuku Péré.
He later ran for election to the position of President of the Togo Football Federation, but at its extraordinary congress on 9 January 2007 he placed second behind Avlessi Adaglo Tata, receiving 14 votes from delegates against 24 for Tata; he placed ahead of Eyadéma's son Rock Gnassingbé, who was the Federation's incumbent president and received eight votes.
Kodjo announced in early August 2008 that he would stand as the candidate of a new party, the Organisation pour bâtir dans l'union un Togo solidaire (OBUTS), in the 2010 presidential election
Togolese presidential election, 2010
A presidential election was held in Togo on 4 March 2010. Incumbent President Faure Gnassingbé—who won his first term in a presidential election that followed the death of his father, long-time President Gnassingbé Eyadema, in 2005—faced radical opposition candidate Jean-Pierre Fabre,...
. He formally submitted his candidacy on 14 January 2010. Although the deadline for the submission of candidacies was 15 January, Kodjo was the first person to formally submit his candidacy. Upon learning that he was first, Kodjo declared that it was "a very good sign" and that he would also be "the first" to be declared the winner of the election.
External links
- Text of the letter sent by Kodjo to the press on 27 June 2002.
- http://www.obuts.org Agbeyome's O.B.U.T.S website.