Sourou Migan Apithy

Sourou Migan Apithy is a politician Bénin ois, born in 1913 with Oporto Novo and deceased the November 12th 1989 with Paris.

It is with the Conference of Brazzaville (January 1944) that the certified public accountant Sourou Apithy points out himself for the first time thanks to the report/ratio which it transmits to the participants. Graduate of the Private school of Political sciences and especially protected from the Father Aupiais, very popular missionary with the Dahomey. It replaces with the foot raised its mentor, at the time of his disease then its death, with the constituent Assembly of October 1945 in her mandate of deputy of Togo-Dahomey.

Apithy is, then, without interruption, elected official with the French National Assembly (1946-1959) while being mayor of Porto-Novo his birthplace and present in the authorities territorial of Dahomey and the AOF. It will be, all this decade, with Senghor but without much success, the keen defender of a multinational African confederation (against Houphouet-Boigny). It is in a climate of flowering partisane (Beninese speciality dahoméenne then with the constitutions, 34 parties in 1991) that the republic is set up in December 1958. Apithy, founder, in 1951, of the Republican party of Dahomey (PRD) directs the provisional government from there. Drawn aside as of April 1959, it is replaced by Hubert Maga which leads the country to independence (August 1960).

The new constitution (November 1960) is of presidential type, prémice obvious of setting-up close to a mode of sole party (left dahoméen the unit, PDU, section of GDR since March 1961) but, as of October 1963, a first military coup d'etat stops this evolution. Apithy takes part then in the provisional government set up by the colonel Soglo (with Maga, quickly drawn aside, and the dentist Justin Ahomadegbe, going down from the kings of Abomey). The III° République (constitution of January 1964) is a bicephalous structure which functions badly (Pdt, Apithy and the Viceone, Ahomadegbe are opposed, whereas they are members both of the new Democratic party dahoméen, the PDD).

Trying to reduce the chronic political instability of the country (the parties, a true constellation, recover stratifications tribal and regional), the army successively seizes the power in 1964,1965 and 1967 (Gall Soglo, cdt Maurice Kouandete then Lieutenant-Colonel Alphonse Alley), which constrained Apithy to be exiled in France. The new adopted constitution in March 1968 is the prelude to the prohibition of candidature of the former presidents (Apithy, Maga and Ahomadegbe) but, not without contradictions, after a short interlude (government of Emile Zinsou), a military triumvirate sets up in June 1970 a presidential council where the 3 enemies find themselves. This " triangle tournant" envisages in turn to give the capacity to the former presidents.

Before it can find the capacity - its turn is envisaged of 1974 to 1976 - in October 1972, the putsch of the Commander Mathieu Kérékou puts an end to this contradictory experiment and the political career of Apithy. Then in displacement in France, this last ose to turn over to Cotonou, which is worth to him to be immediately imprisoned. Released in 1981 - Dahomey became in 1975 the popular republic of the Bénin - the former president leaves for France where it writes his Memories. Weakened by the disease, he dies in Paris on November 12th, 1989. Its native land then issues four days of mourning national.

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