Sylvanus Olympio

He came from the important Olympio family, which included his uncle Octaviano Olympio, one of the richest people in Togo in the early 1900s.

After graduating from the London School of Economics, he worked for Unilever and became the general manager of the African operations of that company.

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.

Sylvanus Olympio was born on 6 September 1902 in Kpandu in the German protectorate of Togoland, present day Volta Region of Ghana.

He was the grandson to the important Brazilian trader Francisco Olympio Sylvio and son to Ephiphanio Olympio, who ran the prominent trading house for the Miller Brothers from Liverpool in Agoué (in present-day Benin).

His uncle, Octaviano Olympio, had located his business in Lomé, which would become the capital of the protectorate, and quickly became one of the richest people in the German and then French colony of Togoland.

The Olympios therefore belonged to an aristocratic community of mixed Brazilian and other African descent that was related to both the Tabom people of Ghana and the Amaro people of Nigeria.

His early education was at the German Catholic school in Lomé, which his uncle Octaviano had built for the Society for the Divine Word.

Following that, he began study at the London School of Economics, where he studied economics under Harold Laski.

Upon graduation, he worked for Unilever first in Nigeria and then in the Gold Coast.

By 1929, he was located to be the head of Unilever operations in Togoland.

In 1938, he remained in Lomé, but was promoted to become the general manager of the United Africa Company's, then part of Unilever, operations throughout Africa.

During World War II, the colony came under the control of the Vichy France government which treated the Olympio family with general suspicion because of their ties to the British.

Olympio was arrested in 1942 and held under constant surveillance in the remote city of Djougou in French Dahomey.

The imprisonment would permanently change his view toward the French and he would become active in pushing for independence of Togo at the end of the war.

Olympio became active in the domestic and international struggle to gain independence for Togo following World War II.

Since Togo was not formally a French colony, but was a trustee under the rules of the League of Nations and then the United Nations, Olympio petitioned the United Nations Trusteeship Council for a host of issues pushing toward independence.

His 1947 petition to the Trusteeship Council was the first petition for resolution of grievances taken to the United Nations.

Domestically he founded the Comité de l'unité togolaise (CUT) which became the major party opposing French control over Togo.

Olympio's party boycotted most of the elections during the 1950s within Togo because of the heavy French involvement in the elections (including the 1956 election that made Nicolas Grunitzky, the brother to Olympio's wife, the Prime Minister of the colony as head of the Togolese Progress Party).

In 1954, Olympio was arrested by the French authorities and his right to vote and run for office were suspended.

After World War II, Olympio became prominent in efforts for independence of Togo and his party won the 1958 election, making him the prime minister of the country.

However, his petitions to the Trusteeship Council led to the 1958 elections where French control over the elections were limited, although involvement remained significant and Olympio's CUT party was able to win every elected position in the national council.

The French were then forced to restore Olympio's right to hold office and he became the Prime Minister of the Togo colony and began pressing for independence.

From 1958 until 1961, Olympio served as the prime minister of Togo and also served as the minister of finance, minister of foreign affairs, and minister of justice for the colony.

He connected with many of the other independence struggles throughout the continent; for example making Ahmed Sékou Touré, first president of Guinea, conseiller special to his government in 1960.

His power was further cemented when Togo achieved independence and he won the 1961 election, making him the first president of Togo.

In 1961, as part of the transition of power away from French control, the country voted for a president and affirmed the Constitution developed by Olympio and his party.

Olympio defeated Grunitzky with over 90% of the vote to become the first president of Togo and the Constitution was approved.

Olympio largely pursued a policy of connecting Togo with Britain, the United States and other Western Bloc countries.

Relations between the two countries became very tense after 1961 with multiple assassination attempts against each leader resulting in accusations against the other leader and domestic repression leading to refugees receiving support from the other country.

Exiles opposing Nkrumah organized in Togo and exiles opposing Olympio organized in Ghana creating a very tense atmosphere.

In 1962, he visited the United States and had a friendly meeting with President John F. Kennedy.

In many respects, he was a cultural linkage between British and French West Africa and spoke both languages fluently and connected with the elites in both circles.

One of the defining dynamics during Olympio's presidency was the tense relationship between Ghana and Togo.

Kwame Nkrumah and Olympio were initially allies working together to gain independence for their neighboring countries; however, the two leaders split when fighting over the western part of the German colony which had become part of the British Gold Coast and eventually part of Ghana.

The division resulted in splitting up the land of the Ewe people.

Nkrumah proposed openly that Togo and Ghana dissolve the colonial borders and unite while Olympio sought to have the eastern part of the German colony returned to Togo.

The relationship became quite tense with Olympio referring to Nkrumah as a "black imperialist" and Nkrumah repeatedly threatening Olympio's government.

He was assassinated during the 1963 Togolese coup d'état.