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 his late teens.

Over the years, he became popular among junior soldiers in the north and gained the contempt of those in the south.

Jim Hoagland of The Washington Post described Kouandété as a "moody, brilliant and highly ambitious soldier".

Despite Kouandété's disdain for him, Soglo appointed the former to his palace guard in 1965.

He was removed the next year after the president asserted Kouandété falsified reports in opposition to Soglo.

On 17 December 1967 Kouandété led a military coup and toppled President Christophe Soglo.

Kouandété seized the presidency, although he was unsure how to wield it.

Kouandété was appointed Alley's chef de cabinet in 1967 and his frequent opposition toward Alley during staff meetings helped to create factions in the Dahomeyan Army.

In April, Kouandété became the vice president of the Comité Militaire de Vigilance, which was established to manage the Soglo administration.

Beside his usual contempt, Kouandété became increasingly concerned about the president's "unmilitary" ways.

On 17 December 1967, Kouandété, Kerekou, and 60 other soldiers led a military coup and toppled Soglo.

Kouandété seized power although he was unsure of how to wield it.

Even though he was not popular among the general public, members of Kouandété's faction urged him to remain at his post.

Meanwhile, France refused to provide aid to Dahomey and did not recognise Kouandété as legitimate.

Two days later, in an attempt to fix the crisis in Dahomey, Kouandété appointed the well-liked Alley provisional president, whom Kouandété previously put under house arrest.

Kouandété served as prime minister thereafter.

Their roles were only temporary, as power was to be ceded back to civilians in six months' time.

By that time, Alley became little more than Kouandété's mouthpiece.

He handed power to Alphonse Alley two days later, and forced him to retire in 1968 in favor of Kouandété's choice, Emile Derlin Zinsou.

On 17 July 1968 Kouandété forced Alley to resign and handed power to Dr. Emile Derlin Zinsou.

This transition of power was enacted mostly to improve relations with the French, as Zinsou was popular among them.

Zinsou was not expected to be chosen president, as he believed that Kouandété's coup was an illegal matter.

He also condemned Gnassingbé Eyadéma of Togo, whom Kouandété regarded highly.

Kouandété was appointed chief of staff of Dahomey's 1,500-man army and launched another coup against Zinsou, on 10 December 1969, to defend it.

The military did not recognise Kouandété as legitimate, and the elections that followed paved the way toward a Presidential Council form of government.

Kouandété attempted to usurp to power again at dawn on 23 March 1972, but the convoluted plot was foiled and Kouandété was sentenced to death.

Kouandete was immediately pardoned when Major Mathieu Kérékou, his cousin, seized power on 26 October.

After his pardon, Kouandété retired from military life and died in 2003.

Kouandété was born in the Gaba District of northern Dahomey to Somba parents.

He was a cousin of Mathieu Kérékou, who also become president of Benin.

In his late teens, Kouandété enrolled in the army, and went to Ecole Militaire and Saint Cyr in France.

He began to rebel against superior officers such as Colonels Christophe Soglo and Alphonse Alley as well as, by extension, the entire Fon hierarchy, who dominated the Dahomeyan military.

He grew in popularity among junior northern soldiers while those in the south increased their contempt of him.

Jim Hoagland of The Washington Post described Kouandété as a "moody, brilliant and highly ambitious soldier".

Kouandété's rose to power during a period of intense regionalism in Dahomey.

They were spurred by the historical resentment shared by members of the former kingdoms of Abomey, Porto Novo, and disorganised tribes from the north.

Its result led to 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.