Nicolas Grunitzky
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Nicolas Grunitzky (April 5, 1913 – September 27, 1969) was the third president of Togo. He was President from 1963 to 1967.
He was born in Atakpamé to a German father (of Polish origin) and a Togolese mother. He studied civil engineering in Paris and was a public administrator before leaving to form his own company. He was the secretary-general of the Parti togolais du progrès (Togolese Party of Progress) and elected into office with the Togolose Parliament in 1951. He was Prime Minister of the Republic of Togo from September 12, 1956 but went into exile after being deposed on May 16, 1958.
Grunitzky was appointed president by the "Insurrection Committee" headed by Emmanuel Bodjollé following a coup d'état that ended with the assassination of president (and Grunitzky's brother-in-law) Sylvanus Olympio. 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. Nicolas Grunitzky attempted to unify the country by including several political parties in his government. However, he was toppled in a bloodless military coup led by now-Lt. Col Étienne Gnassingbé Eyadema and was exiled to Paris.
He was injured in a car accident in Cote D'Ivoire, and died from complications in a hospital in Paris in 1969.
[edit] References
Much of the content of this article comes from the equivalent French-language Wikipedia article (retrieved 27 May 2005).
| Preceded by none |
Prime Minister of Togo 1956–1958 |
Succeeded by Sylvanus Olympio |
| Preceded by Emmanuel Bodjollé |
President of Togo 1963–1967 |
Succeeded by Kléber Dadjo |
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