Antoine Idrissou Meatchi (15 September 1915 – 26 March 1984) was a

Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...

lese politician. He was

Vice President of Togo Vice President of Togo () is a former political position in Togo. The Constitution of Togo of May 1963 established an executive branch of a President of Togo and a vice president. The National Assembly of Togo, National Assembly was left with weak ...

under

Nicolas Grunitzky Nicolas Grunitzky (; 5 April 1913 – 27 September 1969) was the second president of Togo and its third head of state. He was President from 1963 to 1967. Grunitzky was Prime Minister of Togo from 1956 to 1958 under the French Colonial '' loi c ...

following the 1963 coup which overthrew

Sylvanus Olympio 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. He came from the important Olympio family, ...

. Additionally he served as

minister of finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

from 1963 to 1966.Historique du ministère , Ministère de l'Economie et des Finances
/ref> He was deposed in January 1967 in the coup organized by

Étienne Eyadéma Étienne, a French analog of Stephen or Steven, is a masculine given name. An archaic variant of the name, prevalent up to the mid-17th century, is Estienne. Étienne, Etienne, Ettiene or Ettienne may refer to: People Artists and entertainers * ...

Early life and education

Meatchi was born on 15 September 1915 in Sakode and was related to the local royal family. He had his elementary education in

and in 1942 he first traveled to

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

and later to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

to study general and tropical agriculture.

Career and politics

After returning to

in 1953, Meatchi soon became deputy chief of Agricultural Services Lome, head of the Kluoto Agricultural Promotion in the south west and director of the Tove Farm School. While in this position, Meatchi became interested in politics and he soon got his first political appointment in 1956 under Grunitzky who was Togo's first elected prime minister. Meatchi was appointed minister of agriculture and a year later, he was given the finance portfolio. Although the legality of the 1956 elections was contested by Olympio's Committee of Togolese Unity (CUT) and it had to redone under the supervision of the UN in 1958, Meatchi won a seat representing Pagouda in the north while Grunitzky lost to his political rival Sylvanus Olympio.

Leader of the opposition

After Grunitzky's retirement from politics and his departure to Ivory Coast in 1961, Meatchi became the leader of the

Union of Chiefs and Peoples of the North The Union of Chiefs and Peoples of the North (, UCPN) was a political party in Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, t ...

(UCPN) and the leader of the opposition. Following Togo's independence, some administrative regulations were introduced to crack down on sources of opposition and that led to the loss of Meatchi's parliamentary seat in the 1961 elections. In that same year, Meatchi spoke out against the new constitution amendment that provided a strong presidential system with wide powers lodged in an executive president. As a result he was arrested and accused of plotting against the government. After his release, he left to

Accra Accra (; or ''Gaga''; ; Ewe: Gɛ; ) is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , had a population of ...

in Ghana, where he remained in exile until the 1963 coup d'état that led to his return to a position of power, for a while he headed the Bureau of African Affairs in Ghana.

Return from exile

1962 marked his return from exile as Togo became a one party regime with all parties except the CUT formally banned and that led to a coup in January 1963 mounted by the soldiers and resulting in the assassination of Olympio. After his return from exile he was appointed minister of finance, public works and post and telecommunications in the Grunitzky provisional government. After the

1963 elections The following elections occurred in 1963. Africa * 1963 Algerian presidential election * 1963 Chadian parliamentary election * 1963 Moroccan parliamentary election * 1963 Republic of the Congo parliamentary election * 1963 Senegalese general ele ...

he assumed the vice-presidency, with responsibility for finance and economic planning in the new split executive government. The new constitution arrangement lasted for four years and turned out to be disastrous. After the abolishment of the office of the

, Meatchi was appointed to head the Ministry of Works, Mines and Transport in a new government. This new government did not last long. A few weeks later in January 1967, Lieutenant-Colonel

overthrew Grunitzky in a military coup and Meatchi lost his position.

Later life and death

After losing his position as head of Ministry of Works, Mines and Transport, Meatchi lost his credibility and support which made him to retire from active politics. He was later reappointed as director of Agricultural Services, a post he held for several years. He died in 1984.

References

1915 births 1984 deaths Vice presidents of Togo Finance ministers of Togo {{Togo-politician-stub