Nicolas Grunitzky (; 5 April 1913 – 27 September 1969) was the second 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 ...

and its third

head of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

. He was President from 1963 to 1967. Grunitzky was Prime Minister of Togo from 1956 to 1958 under the French Colonial '' loi cadre'' system, which created a limited "national" government in their colonial possessions. He was elected Prime Minister of Togo —still under French administration— in 1956. Following the 1963 coup which killed his nationalist political rival and brother-in-law Sylvanus Olympio, Grunitzky was chosen by the military committee of coup leaders to be Togo's second President.

Biography

He was born in Atakpamé in 1913 to a German father and a Togolese mother (of Ghanaian royalty). He studied

civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

at the ESTP in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and was a public administrator before leaving to form his own company. He was the secretary-general of the Togolese Party of Progress and was elected into the Togolese Representative Assembly in

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...

. Grunitzky also served in the

French National Assembly The National Assembly (, ) is the lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral French Parliament under the French Fifth Republic, Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (France), Senate (). The National Assembly's legislators are known ...

from 1951 to 1958, winning elections in

and

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

. Supported by France, he became the Prime Minister of the Republic of Togo on 12 September 1956. The PTP and its northern ally, the Union of Chiefs and Peoples of the North, were defeated in elections held on 16 May 1958 by Sylvanus Olympio's Committee of Togolese Unity (CUT) and their nationalist allies Juvento, and Grunitzky subsequently went into exile. The CUT/JUVENTO government declared Togo's independence on 27 April 1960, and Olympio (Grunitzky's chief political rival and brother-in-law) was elected the first president of independent Togo. Following a

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 ...

in 1963 that ended with the assassination of President Olympio, Grunitzky was appointed president by the "Insurrection Committee" headed by Emmanuel Bodjollé. This was the first military coup in Western Africa following independence, and was organized by a group of soldiers under the direction of Sergeant Étienne Gnassingbé Eyadema. Grunitzky attempted to unify the country by including several political parties in his government. He was, however, toppled in a bloodless military coup led by now-Lt. Col Étienne Gnassingbé Eyadema and was exiled to

. He was injured in a car accident in

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest city and ...

, and died from complications in a hospital in Paris in 1969.

References

Nicolas GRUNITZKY (1913–1969) Base de données des députés français depuis 1789
assemblee-nationale.fr (Biography at French National Assembly) * Bridgette Kasuka. Prominent African Leaders Since Independence. Bankole Kamara Taylor (2012) * Frédéric Joël Aivo. Le président de la république en Afrique noire francophone: genèse, mutations et avenir de la fonction. L'Harmattan (2007) * GAYIBOR Nicoué. Histoire des Togolais. Des origines aux années 1960 (Tome 4 : Le refus de l'ordre colonial). KARTHALA Editions (2011)

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grunitzky, Nicolas 1913 births 1969 deaths People from Plateaux Region, Togo People of French West Africa Togolese people of Polish descent Togolese people of German descent Yoruba royalty Yoruba politicians Prime ministers of Togo Defence ministers of Togo Presidents of Togo Deputies of the 2nd National Assembly of the French Fourth Republic Deputies of the 3rd National Assembly of the French Fourth Republic Members of Parliament for French West Africa Leaders ousted by a coup Road incident deaths in France 20th-century Togolese politicians