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Joseph Kokou Koffigoh (born 1948〔(List of candidates in Kloto ), CENI website .〕) is a Togolese politician, human rights activist, and a poet who served as Prime Minister of Togo from 27 August 1991 to 25 April 1994. Elected as Prime Minister by the opposition-dominated National Conference in 1991, Koffigoh was given full executive powers and tasked with overseeing a transition to multiparty elections. Beginning in December 1991, however, President Gnassingbé Eyadéma increasingly reasserted his authority at Koffigoh's expense. Although Koffigoh remained in office, the opposition eventually abandoned him, feeling he had become too cooperative with Eyadéma. Koffigoh has been the President of the Coordination of New Forces (CFN) since 1993. He was replaced as Prime Minister after the 1994 parliamentary election, in which the CFN performed poorly, although Koffigoh himself won a seat in the National Assembly. Later, he was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1998 to 2000 and Minister of Regional Integration, in charge of Relations with Parliament, from 2000 to 2002. ==Background and political career during the early 1990s== Koffigoh was born in Kpélé Dafo.〔 He served as the head of Togo's Bar Association〔("Togo's President Agrees to Yield Power to a Rival" ), ''The New York Times'', 29 August 1991.〕 and in August 1990 he founded the first human rights organization in the country, the Togolese League of Human Rights (''Ligue togolaise des droits de l'homme'', LTDH), which quickly won support both at home and abroad.〔John R. Heilbrunn, "Togo: The National Conference and Stalled Reform", in ''Political Reform in Francophone Africa'' (1997), ed. John F. Clark and David E. Gardinier, page 231.〕 He was elected as Prime Minister by the National Conference on 27 August 1991; President Gnassingbé Eyadéma was stripped of his powers and was left as a ceremonial president.〔"Oct 1991 — Failure of coup attempts", ''Keesing's Record of World Events'', volume 37, October 1991, page 38,518.〕 Koffigoh was tasked by the Conference with forming a transitional government leading to elections that were then planned to be held in 1992, in which neither Koffigoh nor Eyadéma were to be allowed to run. Although Eyadéma had sought to suspend the Conference, surrounding the venue with soldiers, he subsequently accepted Koffigoh's appointment.〔 Aside from serving as Prime Minister, Koffigoh also became Minister of Defense.〔("Togo Leader Adds to Cabinet to End Crisis" ), ''The New York Times'', 2 January 1992.〕 According to the opposition, Koffigoh's subsequent appointments of supporters and friends to head public enterprises led to some criticism and antipathy from other members of the opposition; he was accused of strengthening his own power base rather than the unity of the opposition, thus weakening the opposition in the ongoing struggle against Eyadéma.〔Heilbrunn, page 238.〕 In the months following his appointment, troops loyal to Eyadéma repeatedly tried to oust Koffigoh. On 1 October 1991, they seized the national radio and television station and demanded that Koffigoh resign〔〔"Effort to oust Togo's interim leader fails", ''Deseret News'', 1 October 1991.〕 before leaving the station; Koffigoh said afterwards on the radio that order was restored.〔 A week later, they unsuccessfully tried to kidnap Koffigoh, and four people were reported killed in protests and violence that followed.〔("4 Killed After Rebel Troops Fail to Kidnap Togo Premier" ), ''The New York Times'', 9 October 1991.〕 After Eyadéma's party, the Rally of the Togolese People (RPT), was banned by the transitional High Council of the Republic (HCR) in November 1991,〔 soldiers began a siege of Koffigoh's official residence in Lomé in late November, demanding that Koffigoh's government be replaced and threatening to "reduce the city to ashes";〔("France Moves Troops to Block Togo Coup" ), Associated Press, 30 November 1991.〕 they also demanded that the RPT be legalized again and that the HCR be dissolved.〔("Soldiers abandon coup bid in Togo" ), ''The New York Times'', 1 December 1991.〕 Koffigoh called for French military aid. Eyadéma publicly called on the soldiers to return to their barracks and expressed continued trust in Koffigoh, but also invited him to begin consultations on the formation of a new national unity government.〔 Following Eyadéma's call, as well as talks between Eyadéma and Koffigoh and between Eyadéma and the soldiers, the soldiers lifted their siege after two days;〔 however, they promptly resumed it.〔("Soldiers, Breaking Promise, Resume Palace Siege in Togo" ), ''The New York Times'', 2 December 1991.〕 To appease the soldiers, Koffigoh offered to include supporters of Eyadéma in the government, but he refused to dissolve his government altogether, and he again called for French aid.〔("Togo's Prime Minister Proposes Compromise" ), ''The New York Times'', 3 December 1991.〕 On 3 December 1991, soldiers succeeded in capturing Koffigoh in a heavy assault, involving tanks and machine guns, on his official residence. Many people were killed in this violence:〔("Rebels Seize Togolese Premier" ), ''The New York Times'', 4 December 1991.〕〔("Despite a Coup, Togo's Reform Prime Minister Clings to Post" ), Reuters, 5 December 1991.〕 at least 17,〔 and possibly more than 200.〔 The soldiers took Koffigoh to meet with Eyadéma,〔 and later on the same day, Eyadéma released a statement saying that he and Koffigoh would form a new transitional government to replace Koffigoh's previous government. Although Eyadéma did not take responsibility for the soldiers' actions, he was widely believed to have behind them. Koffigoh said in a news conference that he was not being held prisoner and that he was working on "getting things back on track"; although he remained in office, his power was considered curtailed.〔 On 31 December, a new government headed by Koffigoh, including three members of the RPT, was announced; most members of Koffigoh's previous government remained, and Koffigoh himself continued to serve as Minister of Defense.〔 The transitional period, which was originally set to end in August 1992, was extended at that point to 31 December 1992.〔"Aug 1992 - Extension of transition period", ''Keesing's Record of World Events'', Volume 38, August, 1992 Togo, Page 39041.〕〔("DÉMOCRATISATION À LA TOGOLAISE" ) ("CHRONOLOGIE"), Tètè Tété, 1998 (diastode.org) .〕 Koffigoh dissolved his government on 1 September 1992, although it remained in place in a caretaker capacity; he and Eyadéma agreed on 2 September to holding elections—local, parliamentary, and presidential, along with a constitutional referendum—in stages before the end of the year.〔"Sep 1992 - Continuing problems of transition", ''Keesing's Record of World Events'', volume 38, September 1992, page 39,083.〕 Koffigoh formed a new government on 14 September, with 18 ministers, including six from the RPT.〔 On 9 November 1992, he dismissed two RPT members of the government, Minister of Territorial Administration and Security Agbéyomé Kodjo and Minister of Communications and Culture Benjamin Agbéka,〔〔"Nov 1992 - Crisis over dismissal of ministers", ''Keesing's Record of World Events'', volume 38, November 1992, page 39,179.〕 but Eyadéma prevented their dismissal. A rally in support of Koffigoh, who said that he would appeal the matter to the Supreme Court, was held in Lomé on 11 November.〔 The opposition called a strike in the same month, but on 29 December Koffigoh called for the strike to end; as a result the Collective of Democratic Opposition-2 refused to participate in talks with Koffigoh on 3 January 1993.〔"Jan 1993 - Isolation of Koffigoh", ''Keesing's Record of World Events'', volume 39, January 1993, page 39,258.〕 Eyadéma reappointed Koffigoh as Prime Minister later in the month,〔〔 although the opposition and the HCR disputed this on the grounds that only the HCR had the right to appoint the Prime Minister.〔 Having adopted a more cooperative attitude towards Eyadéma, Koffigoh became the subject of opposition criticism.〔("Chronology for Kabre in Togo" ), Minorities at Risk Project (UNHCR.org), 2004.〕 The Coordination of New Forces was established in 1993 as a six-party coalition, led by Koffigoh.〔''Political Parties of the World'' (6th edition, 2005), ed. Bogdan Szajkowski, page 591.〕 In the second round of the February 1994 parliamentary election, Koffigoh was elected to the National Assembly as the UDR/CFN candidate in the Third Constituency of Kloto Prefecture.〔(''Journal Officiel de la Republique Togolaise'' ), 8 April 1994, page 6 .〕 He was the only CFN candidate to win a seat.〔〔(''Africa Research Bulletin'' ) (1996), page 12,363.〕 Following the election, he resigned as Prime Minister, along with his government, on 21 March 1994.〔 Eyadéma appointed Edem Kodjo to replace Koffigoh as Prime Minister in April,〔("Togo Premier Named" ), ''The New York Times'', 24 April 1994.〕 and Kodjo succeeded Koffigoh in office on 25 April.〔 In the National Assembly, Koffigoh was considered a reliable ally of the RPT during the parliamentary term that followed the 1994 election.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Joseph Kokou Koffigoh」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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