Gilchrist Olympio

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Gilchrist Olympio (b. December 26, 1936 in Lomé, Togo) is the son of former President Sylvanus Olympio, (assassinated by Gnassingbé Eyadéma). He was educated in the United States, and worked as an economist for the IMF before returning to Africa to pursue business.

Entering the Togolese political opposition, he was sentenced to death twice by the Eyadema regime, and has escaped several assassination attempts.

He had a large influence in Togo as part of the National Sovereignty Conference (Conférence Nationale Souveraine) which was in place between July-August 1991. This conference put in place a new government and a transitional parliament.

He has headed the UFC, the Union of Forces for Change (Union des forces pour le changement), since 1992.

He was disqualified from the 1993 presidential elections for non-compliance with medical certificates. He fought in the disputed 1998 presidential elections. In 2003, Olympio was disqualified from the elections again for "incomplete filing". He denounced the "permanent coup d'Etat" of Gnassingbé Eyadéma.