Name of leader Gilchrist Olympio
Organization Mouvement Togolais pour la Democratie (MTD) [1]
English Translation Togolese Movement for Democracy
Conflict country Togo
Gender Male
Year of birth 1936 [2]
Place of birth Lomé, Togo[3]
Year of death N/A
Deceased
No, there is no evidence he has died.
Birth order
He was the third child in his family.[4]
Age at start of rebel leadership
In 1967, so age 31.[5] He established MTD in Paris in February 1979.[6]
Leader entry method
He is the founder.[7]
Powersharing
No, there is no evidence of powersharing.
Education (also name universities attended, if any); note any relevant experiences while a student
He has a doctorate in monetary and financial aspects of development programing from Oxford. He also studied philosophy and mathematics in New York, then Economics and Political Science in London for graduate studies.
“As a cheerful and disciplined child, he attended the Catholic missionary school Notre Dame of the Sacred Heart of Lomé and received his first prize in this school on completion of his studies. On competition, he is accepted at the prestigious secondary school of Achimota then called "Princes of Wales College" in Accra. Gilchrist, with his first Chief of State Kwame N'Krumah, will be showing a remarkable intelligence, exemplary discipline and admirable musical and musical talent. In 1958 he entered Hamilton College, Clinton in New York, to study mathematics and philosophy. He later joined the London School of Economics and Political Science, where his late father went on to graduate studies. Under the influence of the philosopher Karl Popper, who was his teacher, Gilchrist expressed the desire to study philosophy. Sylvanus, his father, an economist and a marketing manager, advised him instead to study economics and accounting.”[8] He then got a doctorate at Oxford looking at monetary and financial aspects of development programming.[9]
Ever married? If yes, age of first marriage
Yes, he was married but at what age is unknown.[10]
Children
Yes, he had children.[11]
Religious identification
He practiced Catholicism.[12]
Family background
Yes, his father was the first President of Togo[13]
Political affiliations and intellectual circles; note any relevant social connections made
Yes, “became involved from 1957 alongside some young leaders of the CUT and the JUVENTO in the campaigns they led for the elections of April 1958.”[14]
Physical and mental health
In May of 1992, he was critically wounded in an assassination attempt on MTD leader Eliot Ohn.[15] [16] At the time, Olympio was the leader of the Union of Forces for Change, [17] so this injury was after his leadership in the MTD.
Pre-militant leader occupation
“In 1963 he joined as an economist in the Department of Tax and Financial Studies of the United Nations General Secretariat in New York. The following year he joined the International Monetary Fund where he was the first French-speaking African to work in this institution.”[18]
Experience in a state military, and role; any relevant social ties
No, there is no evidence of experience in a state military.
Experience in a nonstate military, and role; any relevant social ties
No, there is no evidence of experience in a nonstate military.
Combat experience prior to assuming resistance organization leadership?
No, there is no evidence of combat experience.
Held government position prior to assuming leadership?
No, although he did work within a U.N. agency in 1963[19]
Lived in exile?
Yes, he was exiled for roughly 25 years starting in 1967.[20]
Study abroad?
Yes, he studied in the United States and United Kingdom.[21]
Did the leader receive military training abroad?
No, there is no evidence he received military training abroad.
Did the leader have extensive work experience abroad?
Yes, he worked at the Department of Fiscal and Financial Studies and the International Monetary Fund, which are both in the United States.[22]
Serve time in prison? Social connections during that time?
No, there is no evidence he served time in prison. He was “sentenced to death in absentia for his alleged role” in the plot to install himself as President.[23]
Was there an assassination attempt on the leader by the state?
No, but he was wounded during an attack on another MTD member (see the section above on physical and mental health).[24]
Cause of Death?
N/A
Primary language, and other languages spoken as adult
He spoke French as his primary language, in addition to English. [25]
[1]Image Credit: https://alchetron.com/cdn/gilchrist-olympio-64fbbc3a-1408-4886-9ff8-75b26bdcdb4-resize-750.jpeg
(For non-commercial use, all credits belong to the original owners, please contact for removal)
“27. Togo (1960-present),” University of Central Aransas Political Science Department, https://uca.edu/politicalscience/dadm-project/sub-saharan-africa-region/togo-1960-present/
[2] “Le président de l’UFC : Gilchrist Olympio” [The president of the UFC: Gilchrist Olympio], UFR TOGO.com, Accessed September 16, 2017, http://www.ufctogo.com/-Le-President-.html.
[3] “Le président de l’UFC : Gilchrist Olympio” [The president of the UFC: Gilchrist Olympio], UFR TOGO.com, Accessed September 16, 2017, http://www.ufctogo.com/-Le-President-.html.
[4] “Le président de l’UFC : Gilchrist Olympio” [UFC President: Gilchrist Olympio], UFR TOGO.com, Accessed June 12, 2019, Translated automatically, http://www.ufctogo.com/-Le-President-.html.
[5] “Le président de l’UFC : Gilchrist Olympio” [The president of the UFC: Gilchrist Olympio], UFR TOGO.com, Accessed September 16, 2017, http://www.ufctogo.com/-Le-President-.html.
[6] “27. Togo (1960-present),” University of Central Aransas Political Science Department, https://uca.edu/politicalscience/dadm-project/sub-saharan-africa-region/togo-1960-present/
[7] “Le président de l’UFC : Gilchrist Olympio” [The president of the UFC: Gilchrist Olympio], UFR TOGO.com, Accessed September 16, 2017, http://www.ufctogo.com/-Le-President-.html.
[8] “Le président de l’UFC : Gilchrist Olympio” [The president of the UFC: Gilchrist Olympio], UFR TOGO.com, Accessed September 16, 2017, http://www.ufctogo.com/-Le-President-.html.
[9] “Le président de l’UFC : Gilchrist Olympio” [The president of the UFC: Gilchrist Olympio], UFR TOGO.com, Accessed September 16, 2017, http://www.ufctogo.com/-Le-President-.html.
[10] “Ghana: Profile of Gilchrist Olympio,” all Africa, Accessed September 16, 2017, http://allafrica.com/stories/200305270755.html.
[11] “Ghana: Profile of Gilchrist Olympio,” all Africa, Accessed September 16, 2017, http://allafrica.com/stories/200305270755.html.
[12] “Le président de l’UFC : Gilchrist Olympio” [The president of the UFC: Gilchrist Olympio], UFR TOGO.com, Accessed September 16, 2017, http://www.ufctogo.com/-Le-President-.html.
[13] “Mrs. Sylvanus Olympio, Widow of Togo President,” The New York Times, September 24, 1964, Accessed September 16, 2017, http://www.nytimes.com/1964/09/24/mrs-sylvanus-olympio-widow-of-togo-president.html?mcubz=0.
[14] “Le président de l’UFC : Gilchrist Olympio” [The president of the UFC: Gilchrist Olympio], UFR TOGO.com, Accessed September 16, 2017, http://www.ufctogo.com/-Le-President-.html.
[15] “Togo,” Political Handbook of the World 2018-2019, edited by Tom Lansford, Associate Editors Jorge Brown, John M. Callahan, David Harms Holt, Wayne F. Lesperance Jr., and Robert J. Pauly Jr., CQ Press (USA, 2019): 1594
[16] “Chronology for Ewe in Togo,” Minorities at Risk Project, University of Maryland, Current as of July 16, 2010, Accessed June 12, 2019, http://www.mar.umd.edu/chronology.asp?groupId=46101
[17] “27. Togo (1960-present),” University of Central Aransas Political Science Department, https://uca.edu/politicalscience/dadm-project/sub-saharan-africa-region/togo-1960-present/
[18] “Le président de l’UFC : Gilchrist Olympio” [The president of the UFC: Gilchrist Olympio], UFR TOGO.com, Accessed September 16, 2017, http://www.ufctogo.com/-Le-President-.html.
[19] “Le président de l’UFC : Gilchrist Olympio” [The president of the UFC: Gilchrist Olympio], UFR TOGO.com, Accessed September 16, 2017, http://www.ufctogo.com/-Le-President-.html.
[20] “Le président de l’UFC : Gilchrist Olympio” [The president of the UFC: Gilchrist Olympio], UFR TOGO.com, Accessed September 16, 2017, http://www.ufctogo.com/-Le-President-.html.
[21] “Le président de l’UFC : Gilchrist Olympio” [The president of the UFC: Gilchrist Olympio], UFR TOGO.com, Accessed September 16, 2017, http://www.ufctogo.com/-Le-President-.html.
[22] “Le président de l’UFC : Gilchrist Olympio” [The president of the UFC: Gilchrist Olympio], UFR TOGO.com, Accessed September 16, 2017, http://www.ufctogo.com/-Le-President-.html.
[23] “Togo,” Political Handbook of the World 2018-2019, edited by Tom Lansford, Associate Editors Jorge Brown, John M. Callahan, David Harms Holt, Wayne F. Lesperance Jr., and Robert J. Pauly Jr., CQ Press (USA, 2019): 1594
[24] “Togo,” Political Handbook of the World 2018-2019, edited by Tom Lansford, Associate Editors Jorge Brown, John M. Callahan, David Harms Holt, Wayne F. Lesperance Jr., and Robert J. Pauly Jr., CQ Press (USA, 2019): 1594
[25] “Le président de l’UFC : Gilchrist Olympio” [The president of the UFC: Gilchrist Olympio], UFR TOGO.com, Accessed September 16, 2017, http://www.ufctogo.com/-Le-President-.html.
