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Jean-Lucien Savi de Tové

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His Excellency
Jean-Lucien Savi de Tové
5th President of Togo
Incumbent
Assumed office
3 May 2025
Prime MinisterFaure Gnassingbé
Preceded byFaure Gnassingbé
Minister of Trade, Industry and Handicrafts
In office
20 June 2005 – 6 December 2007
Prime MinisterEdem Kodjo
Yawovi Agboyibo
Preceded byTankpadja Lalle
Succeeded byYandja Yentchabré
Vice President of the Pan-African Patriotic Convergence
In office
15 August 1999 – 6 December 2007
PresidentEdem Kodjo
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byVacant
Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
In office
6 February 1967 – 21 November 1974
MinisterJoachim Hunlede
Succeeded byKouanvi Tigoue (interim)
Personal details
Born
Jean-Lucien Kwassi Lanyo Savi de Tové

(1939-05-07) 7 May 1939 (age 86)
Lomé, French Togoland
Political partyCPP (since 1999)
Other political
affiliations		PDU (1991–1999)
Independent (before 1969; 1986–1991; 1994)
RPT (1969–1986)
Parent(s)Jonathan Savi de Tové
Regina Bruce
EducationInstitut d'études politiques de Bordeaux
Sorbonne University
University of Naples Federico II

Jean-Lucien Kwassi Lanyo Savi de Tové (born 7 May 1939) is a Togolese politician and civil servant who has been serving as the fifth president of Togo since 2025. A member of the Pan-African Patriotic Convergence (CPP), he was previously the Minister of Trade, Industry and Handicrafts in the governments of Edem Kodjo and Yawovi Agboyibo from 2005 to 2007.

A former opposition leader, Savi de Tové was imprisoned several times during the presidency of Gnassingbé Eyadéma before joining the government. After the founding of the Pan-African Patriotic Convergence (CPP) in 1999, Savi de Tové was appointed vice president. In the 2007 parliamentary election, he was a candidate for the National Assembly, but then lost. In December of that year, he was dismissed from the government which was also the same day where he subsequently resigened as vice president of the CPP.

In May 2025, Savi de Tové was unanimously elected the president by Parliament following a 2024 constitutional reform which changed the way the president is elected from direct popular vote to being indirectly elected by the National Assembly. Savi de Tové took office succeeding Faure Gnassingbé, the son of Eyadéma, becoming the first officeholder of the now ceremonial role as most of the powers of the presidency that existed before were transferred to a new office called the president of the Council of Ministers due to the reform. The role was subsequently taken by Gnassingbé, who retained most of the executive power. Aged nearly 86 when taking office, Savi de Tové is the oldest person to become president.

Early life and education

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Savi de Tové was born in Lomé to an Ewe family.[1][2][3] He graduated in law from the University of Bordeaux.[4]

Political career

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After the 1967 coup d'état, Savi de Tové at the age of just 28 was appointed Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 6 February 1967.[5] In 1969, President Gnassingbé Eyadéma founded the Rally of the Togolese People (RPT) and Savi de Tové joined the party as it was the only legal party in the country due to Togo being a one-party state at the time.

Savi de Tové was later replaced as Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1974 by Kouanvi Tigoue (interim),[6] and permanently in 1975 by Kodjo de Medeiros.[7] Accused of plotting a coup alongside other political figures, including Gilchrist Olympio, an arrest warrant was issued on 12 July 1979, and Savi de Tové was imprisoned.[8] He was convicted in August 1979 along with four others and sentenced to ten years in prison.[9]

In 1986, Savi de Tové left the RPT and became an independent and took part in the 1990–1991 protests against Presisent Eyadéma demanding multiparty politics. After the legalization of multiparty politics in 1991, Savi de Tové founded the Party of Democrats for Unity (PDU).[10][11] He played a major role in the July–August National Conference between the opposition and the government which subsequently established a transitional government.

In March 1993, the opposition coalition proposed Savi de Tové as Prime Minister during a meeting in Cotonou, Benin, criticizing PM Joseph Kokou Koffigoh's cooperation with President Eyadéma.[12][13][14] However, the official government rejected this nomination.[15][16] In 1994, Savi de Tové left the PDU and ran as an independent in the parliamentary elections but was not elected and thus, rejoined the party.[17] In 1999, the PDU merged with other parties including the UTD and UTS to create the Pan-African Patriotic Convergence (CPP), led by Edem Kodjo.[18] Savi de Tové was appointed as first vice-president of the CPP.[19][20]

In June 2005, Savi de Tové was appointed Minister of Trade, Industry and Handicrafts.[21] He remained in the same position in Yawovi Agboyibo’s government.[22] Savi de Tové signed the resulting political agreement from the 2006 inter-Togolese dialogue on behalf of the CPP.[23] During the 2007 parliamentary election, he led the CPP list in Zio Prefecture but the party failed to win any seats.[24] He was dismissed from the government in December 2007. On 27 May 2009, Savi de Tové was appointed president of the Permanent Framework for Dialogue and Consultation (CPDC).[25]

Presidency (2025–present)

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In May 2024, Togo officially adopted a new constitution, which turned the country from a presidential system into a parliamentary one by stripping off most of the presidential powers and transferring them to the prime minister and where the role was rename the president of the Council of Ministers. The president thus became a ceremornial role, and was also no longer directly elected by the Togolese people but indirectly elected by the National Assembly. The presidential terms was also lowered from five years to four, renewable once.[26][27]

The changes came into effect in May 2025, where Savi de Tové was unanimously elected president by the National Assembly.[28] He was immediately sworn in, becoming the first president of the Fifth Repiblic, succeeding Faure Gnassingbé who took on the role of president of the Council of Ministers and thus, retains most of the executive powers of the country.[29] Taking office just four days before his 86th birthday, Savi de Tové is the oldest president ever in Togolese history.[30]

Honours

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References

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  1. ^ "Circonscription électorale de Zio" (PDF). cenitogo.tg.
  2. ^ "Profil des membres du gouvernement togolais". etiame.com.
  3. ^ "Que le "meilleur" gagne". Africa Intelligence. Archived from the original on 9 March 2006. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
  4. ^ "Bourses". Journal officiel de la République togolaise (134): 692. 16 October 1960.
  5. ^ "Journal officiel de la République togolaise". 1 March 1967: 93. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. ^ "Journal officiel de la République togolaise". 1 February 1975: 62. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  7. ^ "Journal officiel de la République togolaise". 16 May 1975: 227. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  8. ^ "Journal officiel de la République togolaise". 16 October 1979: 525. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  9. ^ The Amnesty International Report. Amnesty International Publications. 1984. p. 106. ISBN 978-0-86210-071-1.
  10. ^ Afrique et développement. 2000. p. 145.
  11. ^ L'Afrique politique 1997: Revendications populaires et recompositions politiques. Karthala. 1997. p. 267.
  12. ^ "Togo: l'opposition propose M. Savi de Tové comme premier ministre". Le Monde. 24 March 1993.
  13. ^ "Africa New Highlights". Reuters. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
  14. ^ Africa Report. Vol. 38. 1993. p. 9.
  15. ^ West Africa, Issues 4180-4193. p. 499.
  16. ^ Africa Contemporary Record. Vol. 24. 2000. p. 188.
  17. ^ Godwin Tété (14 February 2015). "L'élection présidentielle de 2015 au Togo - Clarifions et simplifions la problématique". cvu-togo-diaspora.org.
  18. ^ Bogdan Szajkowski, ed. (2005). Political Parties of the World (6th ed.). p. 591.
  19. ^ "Togo/dialogue: les divergences refont surface avec la reprise des travaux". 2 June 2006.
  20. ^ "Mme Gaba en détention arbitraire et illégale de 48 heures au camp du régiment para-commando de Kara, sur ordre du Lieutenant-colonel Ernest Gnassingbé".
  21. ^ "Togo: Liste des membres du nouveau gouvernement". 21 June 2005.
  22. ^ "Répartition des portefeuilles du nouveau gouvernement togolais". 21 September 2006.
  23. ^ "Texte de l'accord politique global" (PDF). Retrieved 6 May 2025.
  24. ^ "Text of Constitutional Court decision (final election results)" (PDF). 30 October 2007.
  25. ^ "Jean-Lucien Sanvi De Tové confiant et serein". 29 May 2009.
  26. ^ "Togo has adopted major constitutional changes to give parliament more power: how it will work". The Conversation. 1 May 2024.
  27. ^ "Togo Revises Constitution to Eliminate Term Limits: An Explainer". Africa Center. 23 April 2024.
  28. ^ "Togo Elects Former Opposition Leader Jean-Lucien Savi de Tové as President". Togo First. 6 May 2025.
  29. ^ "Faure Gnassingbé becomes first Chairman of Council of Ministers of Togo after shift to parliamentary system". MyJoyOnline. 3 May 2025.
  30. ^ "Togo elects new president". The Independent Uganda. 4 May 2025.
  31. ^ "Journal officiel de la République togolaise" (PDF). 26 December 2006: 4. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
Political offices
Preceded by President of Togo
2025–present 		Incumbent
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