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| 1. Benin (Dahomey) |
| 1960, Aug |
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| Dahomey gained independence from France. Northerner Hubert Maga became president after his Parti Dahoméen de l'Unité won national elections. | 1 |
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| 1967 |
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| Lt. Col. Alphonse Alley led a successful coup and formed the Comité Révolutionnaire Militaire. Alley assumed the presidency. | 2 |
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| 1972–74 |
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| Following a successful coup, Maj. Mathieu Kerekou implemented a program of “scientific socialism” in Dahomey. Key sectors of the economy were nationalized. | 3 |
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| 1975 |
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| Dahomey was renamed Benin. | 4 |
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| 1979 |
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| Transition to civilian rule occurred. | 5 |
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| 1985 |
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| Kerekou was reelected to a five-year term. A shift toward favoring the West continued. | 6 |
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| 1988, March and June |
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| Foes of Kerekou made two unsuccessful coup attempts. | 7 |
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| 1996, March 24 |
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| Presidential runoffs in Benin were won by former Marxist military ruler Mathieu Kerekou. At his inauguration (April 4), Kerekou pledged national reconciliation and appointed his rival, former president Nicéphore Soglo, as minister of finance. | 8 |
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| 1999, March 30 |
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| In legislative elections Nicephore Soglo's Renaissance of Benin Party gained seats in the National Assembly, securing a majority. | 9 |
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| 2000, July |
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| The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) qualified Benin for $460 million in debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative, legitimating the loan by citing Benin's increased economic growth and stability. | 10 |
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