Togo

French Togoland became Togo in 1960. Gen. Gnassingbe Eyadema, installed as military ruler in 1967, ruled Togo with a heavy hand for almost four decades. Despite the facade of multiparty elections instituted in the early 1990s, the government was largely dominated by President Eyadema, whose Rally of the Togolese People (RPT) party has maintained power almost continually since 1967 and maintains a majority of seats in today's legislature. Upon Eyadema's death in February 2005, the military installed the president's son, Faure Gnassingbe, and then engineered his formal election two months later. Democratic gains since then allowed Togo to hold its first relatively free and fair legislative elections in October 2007. French is the official language; Ewe, Mina, Kabye (sometimes spelled Kabiye) and Dagomba are also spoken.