Formerly a German possession, Togo, divided into two parts, was first put under mandate then assigned as a trust territory of the United Kingdom and France. Present-day Togo, independent since 27 April 1960, is the former French territory (the British part was annexed to Ghana). General Eyadéma Gnassingbé, who came to power by coup d’état on 13 January 1967, was forced to introduce a multi-party system in 1991. Thanks to the support of the army, the 1993 presidential elections were a plebiscite in his favour and the General was also reconfirmed as President in both the elections of 1998 and 2003, despite opposition protests. Upon E. Gnassingbé death (5 February 2005), the army appointed his son, Faure, his successor. He was elected in 2005 and re-elected in the following elections.
On the basis of the Constitution of 27 September 1992, the President, elected by direct suffrage for a term of five years, holds executive power and appoints the Prime Minister; the National Assembly is made up of 91 members elected for five years.

Agriculture satisfies most of the local need in terms of food (cassava, maize, yam, sorghum), and certain amount of products are also exported, especially cocoa, cotton (in the area of Lomé, Atakpamé and Kpalimé), palm oil (in Plateaux and Maritime), maize, coffee (grown in the central areas of the country), and soybeans. Phosphates are the main mineral to be mined and exported (mines at Akoumapé and Hahatoé); production is decreasing however due to the higher mining costs of the new deposits and the fall in investments. Iron ore, manganese, chromite and small quantities of gold and diamonds are also mined. Industrial activity concerns the petrochemical and chemical sectors (in Lomé and Kpémé), cement (in Tabligbo), textiles (in Lomé, Dadja, Kara and Notsé) and the food sector (in Lomé).
The 1000-km-long West African Gas Pipeline distributed gas from Nigerian fields throughout the country. The CFA franc is pegged to the Euro by a fixed exchange rate.