Jean-Lucien Savi de Tové facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jean-Lucien Savi de Tové
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| President of Togo | |
| Assumed office 3 May 2025 |
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| Preceded by | Faure Gnassingbé |
| Minister of Trade, Industry and Handicrafts | |
| In office 20 June 2005 – December 2007 |
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| President | Gnassingbé Eyadema |
| Prime Minister | Edem Kodjo Yawovi Agboyibo |
| Preceded by | Tankpadja Lalle |
| Succeeded by | Yandja Yentchabré |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Jean-Lucien Kwassi Lanyo Savi de Tové
7 May 1939 Lomé, French Togoland |
Jean-Lucien Kwassi Lanyo Savi de Tové (born 7 May 1939) is a Togolese politician who has served as President of Togo since 2025.
Early life and education
Savi de Tové was born in Lomé to an Ewe family. He graduated in law from the University of Bordeaux.
Political career
After the 1967 Togolese coup d'état, he was appointed Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 6 February 1967. He was later replaced in 1974 by Kouanvi Tigoue (interim), and permanently in 1975 by Kodjo de Medeiros.
Accused of plotting a coup alongside other political figures, including Gilchrist Olympio, an arrest warrant was issued on 12 July 1979, and he was imprisoned. He was convicted in August 1979 along with four others and sentenced to ten years in prison.
After the legalization of multiparty politics, he founded the Party of Democrats for Unity (PDU). In March 1993, the opposition coalition proposed him as Prime Minister during a meeting in Cotonou, Benin, criticizing PM Joseph Kokou Koffigoh's cooperation with President Eyadéma. The official government rejected this nomination.
He ran as an independent in the 1994 parliamentary elections but was not elected.
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. Savi de Tové was appointed as first vice-president of the CPP.
He was appointed Minister of Trade, Industry and Handicrafts on 20 June 2005. He remained in the same position in Yawovi Agboyibo’s government. He signed the resulting political agreement from the 2006 inter-Togolese dialogue on behalf of the CPP.
During the 2007 Togolese parliamentary election, he led the CPP list in Zio Prefecture but the party failed to win any seats. He was dismissed from the government in December 2007.
On 27 May 2009, he was appointed president of the Permanent Framework for Dialogue and Consultation (CPDC).
Since 3 May 2025, he has served as the first President of the Republic under the newly established Fifth Republic.
Honours
- Order of Mono – Commander (2006)
