Olympio, Sylvanus

Related Category: African History: Biographies

(sĭlvän´əs ōlĭmpē´ə), 1902–63, African political leader, president of Togo from 1961 to 1963. He was active in trade before entering politics and helped bring about Togo's independence from France. Before Togo became a republic in 1960, he was premier and minister of finance and justice. He was assassinated in a coup in 1963 by a group of ex-soldiers.