21 Facts About Edem Kodjo

Edem Kodjo was Secretary-General of the Organisation of African Unity from 1978 to 1983; later, in Togo, he was a prominent opposition leader after the introduction of multi-party politics.

Edem Kodjo served as Prime Minister from 1994 to 1996 and again from 2005 to 2006.

Edem Kodjo had his secondary school education at West Africa Secondary School in Ghana.

Edem Kodjo then returned to Togo and was appointed by President Gnassingbe Eyadema as Secretary-General of the Ministry of Finance in July 1967.

Edem Kodjo participated in the creation of the Rally of the Togolese People ruling party in late 1969 and became the new party's Secretary-General.

Edem Kodjo wrote the "Green Book", which served as the ideological basis for the establishment of the RPT's single-party rule.

Edem Kodjo was removed from his position as RPT Secretary-General in 1971.

Edem Kodjo served in Eyadema's government as Minister of Finance from 1973 to 1977, and as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1976 to 1978.

Edem Kodjo controversially allowed the SADR to be seated as a member of the OAU on February 28,1982, over the objections of Morocco and various other African countries that supported the Moroccan position.

In 1991, a few months before the National Conference, Edem Kodjo returned to Togo and founded a new opposition political party, the Togolese Union for Democracy.

Edem Kodjo's government was announced on May 25,1994; it included the RPT, the UTD, and some smaller parties not represented in the National Assembly.

Edem Kodjo served as Prime Minister of Togo until August 20,1996.

Edem Kodjo resigned as Prime Minister after the RPT won the elections that were held over again in the constituencies where the results had been annulled, giving the RPT and its allies a parliamentary majority; a new government under Kwassi Klutse of the RPT was formed.

Edem Kodjo announced on May 4,1998 that he would not be a candidate in the June 1998 presidential election, stressing the need for opposition unity.

Edem Kodjo backed the leading opposition candidate, UFC President Gilchrist Olympio.

Edem Kodjo subsequently became the leader of a new party, the Patriotic Pan-African Convergence, which was created in August 1999 through the merger of four parties, including the UTD.

Edem Kodjo ran as the CPP's candidate in the June 2003 presidential election.

Edem Kodjo criticized Eyadema for not honoring his pledge to step down in the 2003 election and again called for the opposition to put forward a single candidate.

At a CPP congress in late April 2009, Edem Kodjo announced that he was retiring from day-to-day politics in order to make way for younger leadership.

Edem Kodjo said that he would not be a candidate in the 2010 presidential election.

Edem Kodjo died of COVID-19 on April 11,2020, in Paris, France.