President of Togo

The president of Togo (Template:Langx), officially the president of the Togolese Republic (Template:Langx), is the head of state of Togo. The president is mostly, though not entirely, ceremonial as the actual executive power lies in the prime minister, a powerful role that is the head of the cabinet. The current president is Jean-Lucien Savi de Tové, who took office on 3 May 2025. He is also the oldest president ever in Togolese history.

For most of Togo's independence, the country had a presidential system in which the president was not only the head of state, but also the head of government and that the role had much power over both domestic and foreign policy. However, constitutional reforms adopted in April 2024 reduced the president's powers, made the role more ceremonial, and moved the country towards a more parliamentary system.

While the role became ceremonial, the president is still the commander-in-chief of the Togolese Armed Forces and still has the power to appoint the president of the Council of Ministers and the government. The reform also changed the way the president is elected, from being directly elected by citizens to being indirectly elected by Parliament.

A total of five people have served as president (not counting one acting president and two interim military officeholders). Additionally, one person, Faure Gnassingbé, has served on two non-consecutive occasions: first from the death of his father, Gnassingbé Eyadéma, on 5 February 2005 until his resignation 20 days later on 25 February and the second one from 4 May 2005 until 3 May 2025.

Description of the office

Election

The president of the Republic is indirectly elected by an electoral college composed of members of the National Assembly and the Senate for a mandate of four years.

The president is re-eligible for a second term as there is a two-term limit for the president in the Constitution of Togo which was reinstated in 2019. This limit has been lifted for Gnassingbé Eyadéma in 2002 and for Faure Gnassingbé in 2019.

This college must be convened by the President of the National Assembly within thirty days preceding the end of the outgoing President's term. If the National Assembly is dissolved or if the end of the current legislature is less than three months away, the presidential election shall be convened within forty-five days following the installation of the new legislature. In the event of the permanent incapacity of the incumbent President of the Republic, the meeting of the electors shall be convened no later than forty-five days following the premature end of the outgoing President's term.

To be elected, a candidate must be nominated by one of the parliamentary groups in the National Assembly, be of exclusively Togolese nationality by birth, be over 50 years of age at the time of the election, enjoy full civil and political rights, and have resided in the country for more than one year. Finally, they must have been certified by three doctors accredited by the Constitutional Court as being in a general state of physical and mental well-being.

In the first two rounds, the candidate who achieves an absolute majority of the total number of members of the electoral college is elected. In the third round, the required majority is lowered to a simple majority.

Oath of office

Before he enters into office, the president of the Republic swears before the Constitutional Court meeting in solemn hearing, in these terms:

Before God and before the Togolese people, sole holders of popular sovereignty, We _____, elected President of the Republic in accordance with the laws of the Republic, solemnly swear.

— to respect and to defend the Constitution that the Togolese people have freely given themselves;

— to loyally fulfil the high functions that the Nation has confided in us.

— to be guided solely by the general interest and the respect of the rights of the human person, to consecrate all our forces to the promotion of development, of the common good, of peace and national unity;

— to preserve the integrity of the national territory;

— to conduct ourselves at all times, as a faithful and loyal servant of the People.

Vacancy

In case of a vacancy of the presidency of the Republic by death, resignation or definitive incapacity, the presidential function is exercised provisionally by the president of the National Assembly.

The vacancy is declared by the Constitutional Court referred to [the matter] by the Government.

The Government convokes the electoral body within sixty (60) days of the opening of the vacancy for the election of a new president of the Republic.

Residences

After independence, the President of Togo used the Palace of the Governors as an office and residence. The Palace was formerly used by both German and French colonial administrators. In 1970, President Gnassingbé Eyadéma moved into a new Presidential Palace built near the Palace of the Governors. Another residence used by the Gnassingbé Eyadéma was the Presidential Residence of Lomé II. In 2006, a new Presidential Palace, financed by China, was inaugurated by President Faure Gnassingbé on the outskirts of Lomé.

List of officeholders

Political parties

  Party of Togolese Unity (PUT)

  Togolese People's Movement (MPT)

  Rally of the Togolese People (RPT)

  Union for the Republic (UNIR)

  Pan-African Patriotic Convergence (CPP)

Other factions

  Military

Status

  Denotes acting or interim head of state

Symbols

^§ Elected unopposed

^P Presidential referendum

^† Died in office

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Elected	Term of office			Political party	Prime minister(s)
				Took office	Left office	Time in office
style="background:Template:Party color; color:black;"| 1	File:Sylvanus Olympio.jpg	Sylvanus Olympio (1902–1963)	Template:Text	27 April 1960	13 January 1963 [†] (Assassinated in a coup)	Template:Ayd	PUT	Himself
style="background:Template:Party color; color:black;"| —	File:Emmanuel Bodjollé (cropped).jpg	Emmanuel Bodjollé (1928–?)Template:Efn	—	13 January 1963	15 January 1963	Template:Ayd	Military	Position abolished
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;"| 2	File:Nicolas Grunitzky 1964.jpg	Nicolas Grunitzky (1913–1969)	Template:Text	16 January 1963	13 January 1967 (Deposed in a coup)	Template:Ayd	MPT	Position abolished
style="background:Template:Party color; color:black;"| —	File:No image.png	Kléber Dadjo (1914–1988/89)Template:Efn	—	16 January 1967	14 April 1967	Template:Ayd	Military	Position abolished
style="background:linear-gradient(Template:Party color 20%, Template:Party color 20%); color:white;"| 3	File:Gnassingbe Eyadema detail2 DF-SC-84-10025.jpg	Gnassingbé Eyadéma (1935–2005)Template:Efn	Template:Text Template:Text Template:Text 1993 1998 2003	14 April 1967	5 February 2005[†]	Template:Ayd	Military (1967–1969) RPT (1969–2005)	Koffigoh E. Kodjo Klutse Adoboli A. Kodjo Sama
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;"| 4	File:Faure Gnassingbé 29112006.jpg	Faure Gnassingbé (born 1966)Template:Efn	—	5 February 2005Template:Efn	25 February 2005 (Resigned)Template:Efn	Template:Ayd	RPT	Sama
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;"| —	File:No image.png	Bonfoh Abass (1948–2021)Template:Efn	—	25 February 2005	4 May 2005	Template:Ayd	RPT	Sama
style="background: linear-gradient(Template:Party color 35%, Template:Party color 35%); color:white;"| (4)	File:Fumio Kishida and Faure Gnassingbé before the funeral of Shinzo Abe (1) (cropped).jpg	Faure Gnassingbé (born 1966)Template:Efn	2005 2010 2015 2020	4 May 2005	3 May 2025	Template:Ayd	RPT (2005–2012) UNIR (2012–2025)	Sama E. Kodjo Agboyibo Mally Houngbo Ahoomey-Zunu Klassou Tomegah Dogbé
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 5	File:No image.png	Jean-Lucien Savi de Tové (born 1939)	2025	3 May 2025	Incumbent	Template:Ayd	CPP	Gnassingbé

Timeline

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 id:mpt  value:rgb(0.28,0.24,0.55) legend:Togolese_People's_Movement
 id:rpt  value:rgb(0.01,0.45,0.24) legend:Rally_of_the_Togolese_People
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bar:Olympio
 from: 27/04/1960 till: 13/01/1963 color:put  text:"Sylvanus Olympio"
bar:Bodjollé
 from: 13/01/1963 till: 15/01/1963 color:mil  text:"Emmanuel Bodjollé (interim)"
bar:Grunitzky
 from: 16/01/1963 till: 13/01/1967 color:mpt  text:"Nicolas Grunitzky"
bar:Dadjo
 from: 16/01/1967 till: 14/04/1967 color:mil  text:"Kléber Dadjo (interim)"
bar:Eyadéma
 from: 14/04/1967 till: 30/04/1969 color:mil
 from: 30/04/1969 till: 05/02/2005 color:rpt  text:"Gnassingbé Eyadéma"
bar:Gnassingbé
 from: 05/02/2005 till: 25/02/2005 color:rpt
 from: 04/05/2005 till: 14/04/2012 color:rpt
 from: 14/04/2012 till: 03/05/2025 color:unir text:"Faure Gnassingbé"
bar:Abass
 from: 25/02/2005 till: 04/05/2005 color:rpt  text:"Bonfoh Abass (acting)"
bar:Savi_de_Tové
 from: 03/05/2025 till: $today     color:cpp  text:"Jean-Lucien Savi de Tové"

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See also

• Vice President of Togo
• Prime Minister of Togo
• List of colonial governors of Togo
• Politics of Togo

External links

• World Statesmen – Togo
• 1992 Constitution of Togo (as amended in 2007)