Etienne Eyadema Gnassingbe
Eyadema joined the French army after middle school. He was initially trained in handling weapons and self-defence, just enough to be taken to Indochina and Algeria to fight for France.
In 1962, he returned to Togo and led a coup the following year which took out President Sylvanus Olympio, the country’s independence leader. Eyadema ruled from 1967 until his death in 2005.
