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{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2010}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2010}}
'''Gilchrist Olympio''' (born 26 December 1936) is a [[Togo]]lese politician and the President of the [[Union of Forces for Change]] (UFC),<ref name=UFC>[http://www.ufctogo.com/-Le-President-.html Profile at UFC website] {{fr icon}}.</ref> the country's main opposition party. Since the late 1970s, Mr. Olympio has gained notoriety as one of the best known West African opposition figure, because of his courageous and outspoken opposition to the brutal military regime of former General Gnassingbe Eyadema.
'''Gilchrist Olympio''' (born 26 December 1936) is a [[Togo]]lese politician and the President of the [[Union of Forces for Change]] (UFC),<ref name=UFC>[http://www.ufctogo.com/-Le-President-.html Profile at UFC website] {{fr icon}}.</ref> the country's main opposition party until 10 August 2010. On 10 August 2010, the party replaced him with [[Jean-Pierre Fabre]] as its new President.


M. Olympio is the son of former President [[Sylvanus Olympio]], who was assassinated in a 1963 coup.
M. Olympio is the son of former President [[Sylvanus Olympio]], who was assassinated in a 1963 coup.


==Early life, business career, and early political career==
==Early life, business career, and early political career==
Mr. Olympio was born in [[Lomé]] in 1936. He studied mathematics and philosophy in the United Kingdom, attending the [[London School of Economics]] and Oxford University, where he received a doctorate<ref name=UFC/><ref name=Cas>Michael Tobias, [http://www.jeuneafrique.com/jeune_afrique/article_jeune_afrique.asp?art_cle=LIN11117lecasoipmyl0 "Le cas Olympio"], Jeuneafrique.com, 11 November 2007 {{fr icon}}.</ref> in economics.<ref name=UFC/> He worked at the United Nations on fiscal and financial studies from 1963 to 1964 and then as an economist for the [[International Monetary Fund]] (IMF) from 1964 to 1970 and later returned to Africa as an executive business development manager for Lonrho. Entering the Togolese political opposition, he was sentenced to death twice ''in absentia'' by the regime of [[Gnassingbé Eyadéma]].<ref name=UFC/><ref name=Cas/> Accused of plotting a coup together with various others, a warrant for his arrest was issued on 13 July 1979, but he could not be imprisoned because he was not in Togo.<ref>[http://www.legitogo.gouv.tg/annee/1979/jo%201979-026.pdf ''Journal Officiel de la Republique Togolaise''], 16 October 1979, pages 525–526 {{fr icon}}.</ref>
Olympio was born in [[Lomé]] and he studied mathematics and philosophy in the United States, and in the United Kingdom at the [[London School of Economics]] and Oxford University, where he received a doctorate<ref name=UFC/><ref name=Cas>Michael Tobias, [http://www.jeuneafrique.com/jeune_afrique/article_jeune_afrique.asp?art_cle=LIN11117lecasoipmyl0 "Le cas Olympio"], Jeuneafrique.com, 11 November 2007 {{fr icon}}.</ref> in economics.<ref name=UFC/> He worked at the United Nations in fiscal and financial studies from 1963 to 1964 and then as an economist for the [[International Monetary Fund]] (IMF) from 1964 to 1970 and later returned to Africa to pursue business. Entering the Togolese political opposition, he was sentenced to death twice ''in absentia'' by the regime of [[Gnassingbé Eyadéma]].<ref name=UFC/><ref name=Cas/> Accused of plotting a coup together with various others, a warrant for his arrest was issued on 13 July 1979, but he could not be imprisoned because he was not in Togo.<ref>[http://www.legitogo.gouv.tg/annee/1979/jo%201979-026.pdf ''Journal Officiel de la Republique Togolaise''], 16 October 1979, pages 525–526 {{fr icon}}.</ref>


==Political career: 1991–2009==
==Political career: 1991–2009==
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Prior to the [[Togolese presidential election, 1993|August 1993 presidential election]], Olympio rejected the choice of [[Edem Kodjo]] as the sole candidate of the [[Collective of Democratic Opposition]] (COD II), and on 23 July 1993, was designated as the UFC's presidential candidate.<ref name=Chron>[http://www.diastode.org/Droits/tete_chro.html "DÉMOCRATISATION À LA TOGOLAISE"] ("CHRONOLOGIE"), Tètè Tété, 1998 (diastode.org) {{fr icon}}.</ref> He was, however, disqualified from the election for non-compliance with medical certificates.<ref name=UFC/><ref name=Chron/> He was a candidate in the disputed [[Togolese presidential election, 1998|June 1998 presidential election]], receiving 34.10% of the vote according to official results, in second place behind Eyadéma.<ref>[http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/898586b1dc7b4043c1256a450044f331/4e94c4d96732fa13c1256af000379051/$FILE/G0143065.pdf "CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES UNDER ARTICLE 40 OF THE COVENANT: Addendum TOGO"], United Nations International covenant on civil and political rights, CCPR/C/TGO/2001/3, 5 July 2001.</ref>
Prior to the [[Togolese presidential election, 1993|August 1993 presidential election]], Olympio rejected the choice of [[Edem Kodjo]] as the sole candidate of the [[Collective of Democratic Opposition]] (COD II), and on 23 July 1993, was designated as the UFC's presidential candidate.<ref name=Chron>[http://www.diastode.org/Droits/tete_chro.html "DÉMOCRATISATION À LA TOGOLAISE"] ("CHRONOLOGIE"), Tètè Tété, 1998 (diastode.org) {{fr icon}}.</ref> He was, however, disqualified from the election for non-compliance with medical certificates.<ref name=UFC/><ref name=Chron/> He was a candidate in the disputed [[Togolese presidential election, 1998|June 1998 presidential election]], receiving 34.10% of the vote according to official results, in second place behind Eyadéma.<ref>[http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/898586b1dc7b4043c1256a450044f331/4e94c4d96732fa13c1256af000379051/$FILE/G0143065.pdf "CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES UNDER ARTICLE 40 OF THE COVENANT: Addendum TOGO"], United Nations International covenant on civil and political rights, CCPR/C/TGO/2001/3, 5 July 2001.</ref>


Olympio claimed to have won the 1998 election, however, and demanded that the election be annulled; he also wanted the [[Togolese parliamentary election, 1999|March 1999 parliamentary election]], which was boycotted by the opposition, to be held over again. After initially refusing to attend the [[Inter-Togolese Dialogue]] held in Lomé in mid-1999 due to security concerns, he returned to Lome on 26 July 1999 from Ghana to participate.
Olympio claimed to have won the 1998 election, however, and demanded that the election be held over again; he also wanted the [[Togolese parliamentary election, 1999|March 1999 parliamentary election]], which was boycotted by the opposition, to be held over again. He initially refused to attend the [[Inter-Togolese Dialogue]] held in Lomé in mid-1999 due to security concerns, but on 26 July 1999 he arrived in Lomé from Ghana to participate. Although the dialogue involved many political parties, Olympio demanded exclusive and direct talks between the UFC and Eyadéma's party, the [[Rally of the Togolese People]] (RPT), regarding the 1998 election. This did not happen, and other opposition parties complained that they would be marginalized by such talks between the UFC and the RPT. Olympio consequently returned to Ghana after spending only hours in Togo.<ref>[http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=8264 "TOGO: Olympio leaves talks prematurely"], IRIN, 27 July 1999.</ref>


Under the terms of a 2002 constitutional amendment, all presidential candidates were required to have lived in Togo for at least one year prior to the election. This created a legal barrier to Olympio's candidacy in subsequent elections, since he had been living outside of Togo since 1992.<ref name=Nick/> In 2003, Olympio was deemed ineligible to run in the [[Togolese presidential election, 2003|June 2003 presidential election]] by the electoral commission on the grounds that he did not have a certificate of residency and a recent receipt of tax payments. Olympio appealed the electoral commission's decision to the Constitutional Court, but it ruled against him on 6 May.<ref>[http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=43633 "TOGO: Constitutional Court upholds Olympio's rejection"], IRIN, 7 May 2003.</ref> [[Emmanuel Bob-Akitani]], the First Vice-President of the UFC, ran in place of Olympio; Eyadéma won the election.
Under the terms of a 2002 constitutional amendment, all presidential candidates were required to have lived in Togo for at least one year prior to the election. This created a legal barrier to Olympio's candidacy in subsequent elections, since he had been living outside of Togo since 1992.<ref name=Nick/> In 2003, Olympio was deemed ineligible to run in the [[Togolese presidential election, 2003|June 2003 presidential election]] by the electoral commission on the grounds that he did not have a certificate of residency and a recent receipt of tax payments. On 26 April 2003, Olympio returned to Togo, saying that he did not have any taxable income in Togo. Olympio appealed the electoral commission's decision to the Constitutional Court, but it ruled against him on 6 May.<ref>[http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=43633 "TOGO: Constitutional Court upholds Olympio's rejection"], IRIN, 7 May 2003.</ref> [[Emmanuel Bob-Akitani]], the First Vice-President of the UFC, ran in place of Olympio; Eyadéma won the election.


After Eyadéma died in office in February 2005, Olympio was chosen as the UFC candidate for the [[Togolese presidential election, 2005|early presidential election]] that would be held as a result of Eyadéma's death.<ref name=Nick/> He was nevertheless barred from running, and Bob-Akitani again ran unsuccessfully as the UFC candidate in the April 2005 election.
After Eyadéma died in office in February 2005, Olympio said on 3 March 2005 that he had been chosen as the UFC candidate for the [[Togolese presidential election, 2005|early presidential election]] that would be held as a result of Eyadéma's death.<ref name=Nick/> He was nevertheless barred from running, and Bob-Akitani again ran unsuccessfully as the UFC candidate in the April 2005 election.


Olympio campaigned across the country for the UFC in the [[Togolese parliamentary election, 2007|October 2007 parliamentary election]]; his campaigning including a visit to [[Kara (Togo)|Kara]], Eyadéma's native area, on 9 October, which was considered unprecedented.
Olympio campaigned across the country for the UFC in the [[Togolese parliamentary election, 2007|October 2007 parliamentary election]];<ref name=Souffrant>[http://www.republicoftogo.com/central.php?o=5&s=83&d=3&i=1141 "Olympio souffrant ?"], Republicoftogo.com, 14 October 2007 {{fr icon}}.</ref> his campaigning including a visit to [[Kara (Togo)|Kara]], Eyadéma's native area, on 9 October, which was considered unprecedented.<ref>[http://www.republicoftogo.com/central.php?o=5&s=83&d=3&i=1118 "Une campagne « paisible »"], Republicoftogo.com, 10 October 2007 {{fr icon}}.</ref> On election day (14 October) he was reportedly exhausted and unable to vote for health reasons, leaving another to vote for him.<ref name=Souffrant/>


At the UFC's Second Ordinary Congress,<ref>[http://www.ufctogo.com/2eme-Congres-ordinaire-de-l-union-1925.html "2ème Congrès de l’Union des Forces de Changement"], UFC website, 20 July 2008 {{fr icon}}.</ref> Olympio was re-elected as National President of the UFC on 19 July 2008; he was also unanimously chosen as the party's candidate for the [[Togolese presidential election, 2010|2010 presidential election]]. Olympio said on this occasion that he accepted the "responsibility to lead the Togolese people to victory", and he denounced the RPT regime, saying that it had brought Togo to ruin through four decades of mismanagement and repression. After a serious accident while on a visit to Washington, DC in the United States of America, he was forced to withdraw his candidacy, citing health reasons,<ref>[http://www.liberation.fr/monde/0101622617-les-togolais-elisent-leur-president ''Les Togolais élisent leur président''], ''Libération'', 3 March 2010</ref> and was replaced by [[Jean-Pierre Fabre]] as UFC candidate.
At the UFC's Second Ordinary Congress,<ref>[http://www.ufctogo.com/2eme-Congres-ordinaire-de-l-union-1925.html "2ème Congrès de l’Union des Forces de Changement"], UFC website, 20 July 2008 {{fr icon}}.</ref> Olympio was re-elected as National President of the UFC on 19 July 2008; he was also unanimously chosen as the party's candidate for the [[Togolese presidential election, 2010|2010 presidential election]]. Olympio said on this occasion that he accepted the "responsibility to lead the Togolese people to victory", and he denounced the RPT regime, saying that it had brought Togo to ruin through four decades of mismanagement and repression.<ref>[http://www.republicoftogo.com/central.php?o=6&s=2305&d=3&i=2266 "L’UFC a désigné son candidat pour la présidentielle"], Republicoftogo.com, 20 July 2008 {{fr icon}}.</ref> He ultimately withdrew his candidacy, citing health reasons,<ref>[http://www.liberation.fr/monde/0101622617-les-togolais-elisent-leur-president ''Les Togolais élisent leur président''], ''Libération'', 3 March 2010</ref> and was replaced by [[Jean-Pierre Fabre]] as UFC candidate.

Following the election, unsurprisingly won by the sitting president, and son of the late General Gnassingbe, Mr. Olympio conducted multi-party consultations to decide how the opposition forces would help bring the country out of its endless downward economic slide. After many difficult negotiations, the UFC agreed to form a new government with the President's former single party, the RPT. This landmark agreement provided for the participation of the UFC to the executive branch including government ministers, mayors, regional prefets (governors) and state company board members. The agreement was widely lauded by the international community and by the trading partners of Togo. In late 2010, approximately 90% of Togo's external debt was forgiven and several IMF facilities were expanded for investments in infrastructure and education. Mr. Olympio lives in Togo with his wife and family.


==End of Political Career==
Gilchist Olympio did not give loyal support to Fabre during the elections and ended up being ambushed and stoned<ref>[http://www.republicoftogo.com/Toutes-les-rubriques/Politique/Embuscade-contre-Gilchrist-Olympio''Gilchrist Olympio Stoned''], ''Republicoftogo.com'', 17 April 2010 {{fr icon}}</ref> by members of his own political party while trying to join [[Jean-Pierre Fabre]] in a protest on 17 April 2010. On 30 May he was temporarily demoted<ref>[http://www.afriquejet.com/news/africa-news/togo:-gilchrist-olympio-suspended-from-ufc-in-togo-2010053050090.html ''Gilchrist Olympio Banned''], ''Afrique Jet'', 30 May 2010</ref> from the presidency of the party for having signed an agreement with the ruling power without proper authorization. A month later, he was permanently expelled and replaced by [[Jean-Pierre Fabre]]. Gilchrist Olympio now lives in [[Ghana]] with a former girlfriend<ref>[http://www.togocity.com/spip.php?article5813''Press Conference of Andoch Adonin''], ''Togocity.com'', 22 August 2010 {{fr icon}}</ref> of the late president [[Gnassingbe Eyadema]].


==References==
==References==

Revision as of 03:22, 24 July 2011

Gilchrist Olympio (born 26 December 1936) is a Togolese politician and the President of the Union of Forces for Change (UFC),[1] the country's main opposition party until 10 August 2010. On 10 August 2010, the party replaced him with Jean-Pierre Fabre as its new President.

M. Olympio is the son of former President Sylvanus Olympio, who was assassinated in a 1963 coup.

Early life, business career, and early political career

Olympio was born in Lomé and he studied mathematics and philosophy in the United States, and in the United Kingdom at the London School of Economics and Oxford University, where he received a doctorate[1][2] in economics.[1] He worked at the United Nations in fiscal and financial studies from 1963 to 1964 and then as an economist for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from 1964 to 1970 and later returned to Africa to pursue business. Entering the Togolese political opposition, he was sentenced to death twice in absentia by the regime of Gnassingbé Eyadéma.[1][2] Accused of plotting a coup together with various others, a warrant for his arrest was issued on 13 July 1979, but he could not be imprisoned because he was not in Togo.[3]

Political career: 1991–2009

Olympio returned to Togo in July 1991[4] and participated in the Sovereign National Conference (Conférence Nationale Souveraine),[1][2] which was held in July–August 1991.[4] The conference put in place a new government and a transitional parliament.

He founded the Union of Forces for Change (Union des forces pour le changement), a federation of parties, on 1 February 1992.[4] On 5 May 1992, his convoy was attacked in an ambush in Soudou, in the north of Togo;[1][2] 12 people were killed,[1] and Olympio himself was seriously injured, spending a year recovering in hospitals in France and the United Kingdom.[1][2] Following the attack, Olympio lived in exile in Paris.[5] An investigation by the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH) found that Eyadéma's son Ernest Gnassingbé was in charge of the commandos who perpetrated the attack.[1]

Prior to the August 1993 presidential election, Olympio rejected the choice of Edem Kodjo as the sole candidate of the Collective of Democratic Opposition (COD II), and on 23 July 1993, was designated as the UFC's presidential candidate.[6] He was, however, disqualified from the election for non-compliance with medical certificates.[1][6] He was a candidate in the disputed June 1998 presidential election, receiving 34.10% of the vote according to official results, in second place behind Eyadéma.[7]

Olympio claimed to have won the 1998 election, however, and demanded that the election be held over again; he also wanted the March 1999 parliamentary election, which was boycotted by the opposition, to be held over again. He initially refused to attend the Inter-Togolese Dialogue held in Lomé in mid-1999 due to security concerns, but on 26 July 1999 he arrived in Lomé from Ghana to participate. Although the dialogue involved many political parties, Olympio demanded exclusive and direct talks between the UFC and Eyadéma's party, the Rally of the Togolese People (RPT), regarding the 1998 election. This did not happen, and other opposition parties complained that they would be marginalized by such talks between the UFC and the RPT. Olympio consequently returned to Ghana after spending only hours in Togo.[8]

Under the terms of a 2002 constitutional amendment, all presidential candidates were required to have lived in Togo for at least one year prior to the election. This created a legal barrier to Olympio's candidacy in subsequent elections, since he had been living outside of Togo since 1992.[5] In 2003, Olympio was deemed ineligible to run in the June 2003 presidential election by the electoral commission on the grounds that he did not have a certificate of residency and a recent receipt of tax payments. On 26 April 2003, Olympio returned to Togo, saying that he did not have any taxable income in Togo. Olympio appealed the electoral commission's decision to the Constitutional Court, but it ruled against him on 6 May.[9] Emmanuel Bob-Akitani, the First Vice-President of the UFC, ran in place of Olympio; Eyadéma won the election.

After Eyadéma died in office in February 2005, Olympio said on 3 March 2005 that he had been chosen as the UFC candidate for the early presidential election that would be held as a result of Eyadéma's death.[5] He was nevertheless barred from running, and Bob-Akitani again ran unsuccessfully as the UFC candidate in the April 2005 election.

Olympio campaigned across the country for the UFC in the October 2007 parliamentary election;[10] his campaigning including a visit to Kara, Eyadéma's native area, on 9 October, which was considered unprecedented.[11] On election day (14 October) he was reportedly exhausted and unable to vote for health reasons, leaving another to vote for him.[10]

At the UFC's Second Ordinary Congress,[12] Olympio was re-elected as National President of the UFC on 19 July 2008; he was also unanimously chosen as the party's candidate for the 2010 presidential election. Olympio said on this occasion that he accepted the "responsibility to lead the Togolese people to victory", and he denounced the RPT regime, saying that it had brought Togo to ruin through four decades of mismanagement and repression.[13] He ultimately withdrew his candidacy, citing health reasons,[14] and was replaced by Jean-Pierre Fabre as UFC candidate.

End of Political Career

Gilchist Olympio did not give loyal support to Fabre during the elections and ended up being ambushed and stoned[15] by members of his own political party while trying to join Jean-Pierre Fabre in a protest on 17 April 2010. On 30 May he was temporarily demoted[16] from the presidency of the party for having signed an agreement with the ruling power without proper authorization. A month later, he was permanently expelled and replaced by Jean-Pierre Fabre. Gilchrist Olympio now lives in Ghana with a former girlfriend[17] of the late president Gnassingbe Eyadema.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Profile at UFC website Template:Fr icon.
  2. ^ a b c d e Michael Tobias, "Le cas Olympio", Jeuneafrique.com, 11 November 2007 Template:Fr icon.
  3. ^ Journal Officiel de la Republique Togolaise, 16 October 1979, pages 525–526 Template:Fr icon.
  4. ^ a b c "Historique du mouvement patriotique togolais", UFC website Template:Fr icon.
  5. ^ a b c Nick Tattersall, "Exiled opposition chief to run for president", Reuters (IOL), 3 March 2005.
  6. ^ a b "DÉMOCRATISATION À LA TOGOLAISE" ("CHRONOLOGIE"), Tètè Tété, 1998 (diastode.org) Template:Fr icon.
  7. ^ "CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES UNDER ARTICLE 40 OF THE COVENANT: Addendum TOGO", United Nations International covenant on civil and political rights, CCPR/C/TGO/2001/3, 5 July 2001.
  8. ^ "TOGO: Olympio leaves talks prematurely", IRIN, 27 July 1999.
  9. ^ "TOGO: Constitutional Court upholds Olympio's rejection", IRIN, 7 May 2003.
  10. ^ a b "Olympio souffrant ?", Republicoftogo.com, 14 October 2007 Template:Fr icon.
  11. ^ "Une campagne « paisible »", Republicoftogo.com, 10 October 2007 Template:Fr icon.
  12. ^ "2ème Congrès de l’Union des Forces de Changement", UFC website, 20 July 2008 Template:Fr icon.
  13. ^ "L’UFC a désigné son candidat pour la présidentielle", Republicoftogo.com, 20 July 2008 Template:Fr icon.
  14. ^ Les Togolais élisent leur président, Libération, 3 March 2010
  15. ^ Gilchrist Olympio Stoned, Republicoftogo.com, 17 April 2010 Template:Fr icon
  16. ^ Gilchrist Olympio Banned, Afrique Jet, 30 May 2010
  17. ^ Press Conference of Andoch Adonin, Togocity.com, 22 August 2010 Template:Fr icon

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