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| 21. Togo |
| 1960, April 27 |
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| Togo gained independence from France. Sylvanus Olympio was elected as the country's first president. | 1 |
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| 1963, Jan |
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| Olympio was assassinated by rebels in the army. Nicholas Grunitsky became head of a coalition government. | 2 |
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| 1967, Jan. 13 |
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| Lt. Col. Étienne Gnassingbe Eyedema took power in a successful coup and banned all political parties. | 3 |
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| 1969, Aug |
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| Eyedema formed the Rassemblement du Peuple Togolais (RPT) to bolster his style of personal rule. The influence of the military on government policy faded as Eyedema appointed civilians to serve under him. | 4 |
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| 1970, 1977, 1978 |
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| Coup plots failed to oust Eyedema from power. | 5 |
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| 1972, 1979 |
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| National referendums endorsed Eyedema's leadership. | 6 |
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| 1974 |
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| Eyedema embarked on a program of “authenticity” to encourage the use of African names and languages in Togo, rather than those from Europe. | 7 |
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| 1985, March |
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| In nationwide elections, RPT members vied for seats in the National Assembly. These elections marked the first time in which more than one candidate could compete for an individual seat. | 8 |
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| 1986, Dec |
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| Eyedema was reelected to another seven-year term as Togo's president. | 9 |
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| 1987, Oct |
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| Eyedema formed the Human Rights Commission and pardoned 230 detainees. | 10 |
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| 1994, Jan. 5 |
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| One hundred Ghanaian gunmen allegedly made an assassination attempt on Togo president Gnassingbe Eyadema, probably because of the recent closure of border crossings with Ghana and the institution of a dusk-to-dawn curfew in Lome, the capital. A battle followed in which 40 people were killed. | 11 |
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| Feb |
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| Elections for the national assembly were held, despite some isolated incidences of violence, under international observation. A total of 381 candidates competed for 81 seats. Observers declared themselves satisfied with the elections. | 12 |
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