Zarifou Ayéva

Zarifou Ayéva (22 April 1942 – 15 December 2025) was a Togolese politician who was the President of the Party for Democracy and Renewal (PDR).[1][2][3] He served in the government of Togo as a minister during the 1970s and became an opposition leader in the early 1990s. He was a minor candidate in the 1998 presidential election and later served as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs from 2005[3] to 2007.

Life and career

Ayéva was born in Sokodé, Tchaoudjo Prefecture on 22 April 1942.[1][2] He was appointed to the government as Minister of Trade, Industry, and Transport on 5 March 1975,[4] and he was appointed Deputy Director-General of the National Iron and Steel Company (Société Nationale de Sidérurgie, SNS) in Lomé in 1977.[1] He was also appointed Secretary-General of the Togolese National Olympic Committee on 17 March 1977.[5]

He was retained in the government as Minister of Trade and Transport on 17 January 1978[6][7] before being moved to the position of Minister of Information[1][2][8][9] on 14 November 1978.[9] He was dismissed from the government on 19 March 1979, and was appointed Director-General of SNS on the same day,[8][10] remaining in that post until 1982.[1]

Ayéva subsequently became the President of the PDR, which was founded in May 1991, and from 1991 to 1993 he was a member of the High Council of the Republic (HCR), which acted as the transitional parliament; on the HCR, he served as President of the Commission on Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Security.[1] He was an unsuccessful candidate in the June 1998 presidential election,[1][11][12] taking fourth place with 3.02% of the vote.[11][12] On 18 June, three days before the election, he and fellow opposition candidate Yawovi Agboyibo called for the election to be delayed due to irregularities during electoral preparations and difficulties they faced in campaigning, including their treatment by the High Audiovisual and Communication Authority.[13] A residence belonging to Ayéva was ransacked by security forces on 17 August 1998.[14]

In the government named on 20 June 2005, which included members of the opposition, Ayéva was appointed Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and African Integration.[3]

At the PDR's Third Statutory Congress, held on 24 February 2007, was re-elected as the party's president.[15] In the October 2007 parliamentary election, he was the first candidate on the PDR's candidate list for Tchaoudjo Prefecture,[16] but the PDR did not win any seats in the election.[17]

Following the election, Ayéva was replaced as Foreign Minister by another opposition leader, Léopold Gnininvi, in the government of Prime Minister Komlan Mally, named on 13 December 2007.[18]

Ayéva died after a long illness on 15 December 2025, at the age of 83.[19]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Zarifou Ayeva: Ministre d'Etat, Ministre des affaires étrangères et de l'intégration Africaine" Archived 19 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine, infostogo.de (in French).
  2. ^ a b c List of government ministers Archived 7 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Etiame.com (in French).
  3. ^ a b c "Togo : Des membres de l’opposition entrent au gouvernement" Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, AFP (interet-general.info), 21 June 2005 (in French).
  4. ^ Journal Officiel de la Republique Togolaise Archived 8 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine, 16 April 1975, page 169 (in French).
  5. ^ Journal Officiel de la Republique Togolaise Archived 8 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine, 16 April 1977, page 216 (in French).
  6. ^ Journal Officiel de la Republique Togolaise Archived 8 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine, 16 February 1978, page 85 (in French).
  7. ^ "Apr 1978 - Government Changes", Keesing's Record of World Events, Volume XXIV, April 1978 Togo, Page 28924.
  8. ^ a b "Aug 1979 - Cabinet Reorganization - Arrest of Alleged Plotters", Keesing's Record of World Events, Volume 25, August 1979 Togo, Page 29780.
  9. ^ a b Journal Officiel de la Republique Togolaise Archived 8 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine, 16 December 1978, page 589 (in French).
  10. ^ Journal Officiel de la Republique Togolaise, 5 July 1979, page 7 (in French).
  11. ^ a b "Togo: Interior minister declares Eyadema to have been re-elected", Radio Togo (nl.newsbank.com), 24 June 1998.
  12. ^ a b "CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES UNDER ARTICLE 40 OF THE COVENANT: Addendum TOGO" Archived 5 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine, United Nations International covenant on civil and political rights, CCPR/C/TGO/2001/3, 5 July 2001.
  13. ^ "Togo: Two opposition candidates demand postponement of poll", Radio France Internationale (nl.newsbank.com), 19 June 1998.
  14. ^ "U.S. Department of State Country Report on Human Rights Practices 1998 - Togo" Archived 4 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine, UNHCR.org.
  15. ^ "3E CONGRES STATUTAIRE DU PDR : M AYEVA ZARIFOU RECONDUIT A LA TETE DU PARTI" Archived 2 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine, radiolome.tg (in French).
  16. ^ List of candidates in Tchaoudjo Prefecture in the 2007 election, CENI website (in French).
  17. ^ Text of Constitutional Court decision (final election results) Archived 29 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine, 30 October 2007 (in French).
  18. ^ "Léopold Gnininvi aux Affaires étrangères" Archived 18 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Republicoftogo.com, 13 December 2007 (in French).
  19. ^ Mort de Zarifou Ayéva, l’homme d’État devenu opposant de conviction (in French)
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