Kléber Dadjo (12 August 1914 – 23 September 1988 or 23 September 1989) was a Togolese politician and military officer who served as Interim President of

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 ...

in his role as Chairman of the National Reconciliation Committee from 14 January 1967 to 14 April 1967 following the overthrow of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Nicolas Grunitzky's government.

Biography

Kléber Dadjo was born in Siou on 12 August 1914. He was of the Nawde (or Losso) ethnic and linguistic group. Dadjo served in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and in the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

in the

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia (historically known as Indochina and the Indochinese Peninsula) is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to th ...

and Algerian conflicts. At the time of Togo's independence in 1960, he was the longest-serving and highest-

ranking A ranking is a relationship between a set of items, often recorded in a list, such that, for any two items, the first is either "ranked higher than", "ranked lower than", or "ranked equal to" the second. In mathematics, this is known as a weak ...

Togolese in the French Army. He held the rank of Captain and commanded Togo's tiny defence force, the ''Garde Togolaise''. He was promoted to Major and eventually to Colonel after the 1963 ''coup d'état'' and served as head of the military cabinet of President Nicolas Grunitzky. After the second military

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

on 13 January 1967, Dadjo was named interim President of Togo (as Chairman of the ''Comité National de Reconciliation''), a position that he held until 14 April 1967, when Lt. Col. Gnassingbé Etienne Eyadéma was named president. From 1967 to 1968 he served as

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

and as ''Chef du Cabinet Militaire de la Présidence de la République''. In 1968, Dadjo retired and returned to his home in Siou where he became ''Chef de Canton''. Dadjo died on 23 September 1988 or 23 September 1989. In 2006, Dadjo was recognised by the government of President

Faure Gnassingbé Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé (; born 6 June 1966)"Biographie de nouveau pré ...

along with former presidents Sylvanus Olympio and Nicolas Grunitzky and former

Vice President A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

Antoine Méatchi as part of a decision to rehabilitate the image of Togo's previous leaders. The former ''avenue de la Nouvelle Marche'' in

Lomé Lomé ( , ) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities in Togo, largest city of Togo. It has an urban population of 837,437

was renamed ''avenue Kléber Dadjo'' in his honor. Dadjo is frequently and erroneously identified in print as a Kabyé rather than a Nawde (or Losso).Sources include: Decalo, Samuel, ''Historical Dictionary of Togo, Third Edition'', Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 1996, pp. 106–107.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dadjo, Kleber British Army personnel of World War II French military personnel of the First Indochina War French military personnel of the Algerian War Presidents of Togo Defence ministers of Togo Justice ministers of Togo Togolese military personnel 1914 births 1980s deaths People from Kara Region 20th-century Togolese politicians