Sourou-Migan Apithy

Sourou-Migan Apithy (born April 8, 1913 in Porto-Novo , † December 3, 1989 in Paris ) was a Beninese politician and president of Dahomey from 1964 to 1965 .

Life

Apithy came from the city of Porto Novo in the south of the then French Dahomey (since 1975 Benin ). After attending Catholic mission schools, he studied economics in Paris and worked as an accountant.

Political career until 1960

In 1946 he became a member of the Constituent Assembly for the Fourth Republic and then the French National Assembly and was involved in the founding of the Rassemblement Démocratique Africain (RDA) party . In 1948 he left the RDA and founded the Parti Républicain Dahoméen (PRD) - later only Parti Démocratique (PD) , which was based on Léopold Sédar Senghor from Senegal , who was competing with the RDA at the time. In 1956 he became mayor of Porto Novo. After elections to the Territorial Assembly, he became Vice President of the Government Council on May 25, 1957. In May 1958 he took over the office of Prime Minister of Dahomey, but was beaten in new elections in May 1959 by the RDA under the leadership of Coutoucou Hubert Maga . The latter succeeded him as head of government.

In the independent Dahomey

After the country gained independence in 1960, he became Vice President under the first President Maga and was a member of the Cabinet. Apithy was an advocate of working closely with France. After Maga's resignation, he was at the helm for one day in October 1963 before Chief of Staff Christophe Soglo took over the post.

He received the office of President after the ratification of a new constitution in a referendum from the interim President Soglo on January 25, 1964. On November 29, 1965, Apithy resigned to make way for a new government under Parliamentary President Tahirou Congacou , the latter became on Overthrown by General Soglo on December 22nd, 1965 after his demands to the divided parties for better cooperation had not borne fruit. Apithy went into exile in France and returned after Soglo's fall in 1967.

In 1970 he belonged to Justin Ahomadegbé-Tomêtin and Coutoucou Hubert Maga on the three-member Presidential Council, whose members should take turns at the top of the state. During Maga's tenure there was a coup by Major Mathieu Kérékou on October 26, 1972 , which made this regulation obsolete. Together with his two colleagues, he was placed under arrest and was only allowed to leave the country in 1981. He went back to France, spent the rest of his life in exile, and died in Paris.

Web links

• Hagalil.com Avi Primor about a brief encounter with Apithy in about 1964.
• Biography at Bookrags (English)