Paul Darboux (10 May 1919 in

Cotonou Cotonou (; ) is the largest city in Benin. Its official population count was 679,012 inhabitants in 2012; however, over two million people live in the larger urban area. The urban area continues to expand, notably toward the west. The city lies ...

French Dahomey French Dahomey, officially the Colony of Dahomey and Dependencies (), was a French colony and part of French West Africa from 1894 to 1958. After World War II, by the establishment of the French Fourth Republic in 1947, Dahomey became part of ...

- 1982 or 17 July 1985 in

Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N'ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the largest city and the former capital of Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of the overall population ...

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 ...

) was a

Benin Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its po ...

ese merchant and politician, most active when his country was known as

Dahomey The Kingdom of Dahomey () was a West African List of kingdoms in Africa throughout history, kingdom located within present-day Benin that existed from approximately 1600 until 1904. It developed on the Abomey Plateau amongst the Fon people in ...

Early life

Darboux was born on 10 May 1919 in

, then the economic capital of

, to a noble family from

Djougou Djougou is the largest city in northwestern Benin. It is an important market town. The commune covers an area of 3,966 square kilometres and as of 2002 had a population of 237.040 people. Djougou is home to a constituent monarchy. General info ...

. He soon became an important merchant, and a power base rapidly grew around him, among the Dendi and Wangara peoples of the north. He had ambitions on the Dahomeyan political scene, and helped finance

Hubert Maga Hubert Coutoucou Maga (August 10, 1916 – May 8, 2000) was a politician from Dahomey (now known as Benin). Born a peasant in 1916, Maga served as a schoolmaster from 1936 to 1945, during which time he gradually gained considerable influence among ...

's deputy campaigns..

Political career

In the

legislative election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

of 17 June 1951, when Dahomey was allowed an additional representative 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 ...

, Maga ran for that office. As per a May 1951 electoral law, each candidate had to give the name of another who would occupy the second seat in the event that the other party's first candidate came in third or below. Maga decided to run with Darboux, and won the election. He founded his own political party, the Défense des Intérêts Économiques, in 1956. This would occasionally go under the names of ''Union des Indépendants du Dahomey'' or ''Indépendents du Nord'' during his long political career. In the

1957 Dahomeyan Territorial Assembly election Elections to the Territorial Assembly were held in French Dahomey on 31 March 1957. The result was a victory for the Republican Party of Dahomey, which won 35 of the 60 seats.Djougou Djougou is the largest city in northwestern Benin. It is an important market town. The commune covers an area of 3,966 square kilometres and as of 2002 had a population of 237.040 people. Djougou is home to a constituent monarchy. General info ...

and gained himself a seat. Darboux allied with

Sourou-Migan Apithy Sourou-Migan Marcellin Joseph Apithy (8 April 1913 – 3 December 1989) was a Beninese political figure most active when his country was known as Dahomey. He arose on a political scene where one's power was dictated by what region in Dahomey one ...

, and was rewarded with the post of Minister of Labor and Social Affairs in Apithy's government of 1958. The new minister owned the

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

Syndicat des Commerçants Africains du Dahomey, which he used to advance his political aspirations. President

retained Darboux in his administration from 1960 to 1963 as Minister of Economics and Commerce. He gained power in the Atakora region and hatred in

. On October 28, 1963, Chief of Staff of the 800-man Dahomeyan Army

Christophe Soglo Christophe Soglo (28 June 1909 – 7 October 1983) was a Beninese military officer and political leader. Early life Christophe Soglo was born on 28 June 1909 in Abomey, French Dahomey to a chiefly Fon family. Military career In 1931, Soglo vo ...

overthrew Maga and established his own regime. In its wake, Darboux was imprisoned for mishandling fiscal resources. His whereabouts were unknown until 1970, when he campaigned for Maga in the upcoming election. When a Presidential Council form of government was established that year, Darboux was voted president of the Assemblée Consultative Nationale,. a consultative assembly. After the October 1972 coup, the Assemblée was dismissed.. In 1974, he went into exile in

, and died on 17 July 1985 in

References

Bibliography

* . * . * . {{DEFAULTSORT:Darboux, Paul 1919 births 1985 deaths People from Cotonou People from Djougou People of French West Africa Economy ministers of Benin Labor ministers of Benin Social affairs ministers of Benin Trade ministers of Benin Presidents of the National Assembly (Benin) Beninese merchants Exiled politicians Beninese emigrants to Ivory Coast