French Togoland
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French Togoland ( French : Togoland français ) was a French mandate of the League of Nations or the United Nations in West Africa that was created in the wake of the First World War . In 1960 the modern Republic of Togo emerged from this area .
Mandate history
On August 26, 1914, immediately after the outbreak of the First World War, British and French troops moved into the German colony of Togo . After five days, the German police force stationed here surrendered. In 1916 Togo was divided into a British and a French administrative zone and after the end of the war it was formally declared a mandate of the newly founded League of Nations, which, however, remained divided into a British and a French part for administrative reasons. The French part was considerably larger (about 2/3 of the original colony) and included the entire coastal area as well as the railway network.
After the Second World War , both parts were declared trust areas of the successor organization to the League of Nations, i.e. the United Nations, without any change in the shared administration.
In 1956, French Togoland became an autonomous republic within the Union française , but remained under UN trust administration. A legislative assembly elected with universal suffrage had extensive powers over internal affairs of the "republic", in addition there was an elected executive body headed by a prime minister who was responsible for the legislature . In 1956 this system was laid down in a constitution , which was confirmed by a referendum . On September 10, 1956, Nicolas Grunitzky became Prime Minister of the "Autonomous Republic of Togoland".
Justified by irregularities in this plebiscite , another general election was held in 1958, from which Sylvanus Olympio emerged as the winner.
On April 27, 1960, French Togoland severed its constitutional ties to France, got rid of its UN trusteeship status and became independent with a provisional constitution under President Olympio.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ Helmut Schroeter, Roel Ramaer: The railways in the once German protected areas. East Africa, South West Africa, Cameroon, Togo and the Shantung Railway. Then and now. = German Colonial Railways. Röhr-Verlag, Krefeld 1993, ISBN 3-88490-184-2 , p. 109.