Justin Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin
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Justin Ahomadegbé-Tomêtin was a Beninese politician most active when his country was known as Dahomey. He arose on a political scene where one's power was dictated by what region of Dahomey one lived
Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin in 1964
Ahomadegbe-Tometin with Israeli prime minister Levi Eshkol, 1964
Togolese president Etienne Eyadema, who would later change his name to Gnassingbé Eyadéma. His decision to extradite opposition leader Noe Kutuklui, and the Presidential Council's agreement, helped to undermine its popularity.
Mathieu Kérékou, who overthrew the Presidential Council in 1972, in a 2006 photograph
Mathieu Kérékou
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Mathieu Kérékou was a Beninese politician and revolutionary who served as president of the People's Republic of Benin from 1972 to 1991 and the Republic of Benin from 1996 to 2006.
Justin Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin
…Maga, and Sourou-Migan Apithy. Maga peacefully handed power to Ahomadégbé on May 7, 1972. On October 26, 1972, he was overthrown in a coup d'état led by Mathieu Kérékou. All three remained under house arrest until 1981. Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin was born on January 16, 1917, a direct descendant of the kings of Abomey, the…
Kérékou in 2006
Kérékou with Romanian leader Nicolae Ceaușescu in 1976
USSR ambassador to Benin Vitaly Agapov presents his letter of credence to Mathieu Kérékou, May 1979.
Kérékou's statue in Kouarfa