Presidential Council (Benin)

The Presidential Council (French: Conseil Présidentiel) was a triumvirate system of government in the Republic of Dahomey (present-day Benin) from 7 May 1970 until 26 October 1972.

Hubert Maga from the north was deposed in a military coup in 1963 which eventually appointed Apithy from Porto-Novo and Ahomadégbé from the former kingdom of Dahomey as the divided rulers of the country.

In the political crisis that resulted, the military was able to get the three main candidates, Maga, Ahomadégbé, and Apithy to agree to form a Presidential Council with all three holding all executive and legislative authority.

The various ministerial positions would be divided between the three leaders; however, the Ministry of the Interior and the Minister of the Army would be appointed by the sitting president.

However, stalled politics ensued with Maga and Apithy working to undermine Ahomadégbé's ability to govern and the Presidential Council was ended on 26 October 1972 when a military coup led by Mathieu Kérékou assumed power and ruled the country until 1991.

The colony was constructed of two coastal kingdoms with a long history of antagonism with one another (Dahomey and Porto-Novo) with a large area to the north controlled by a variety of mostly Mahi and Bariba peoples.

In the area that was formerly the kingdom of Dahomey, the Union Démocratique du Dahomé led by Justin Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin became the most powerful party.

[7][8] To consolidate his power, Maga promoted a number of allies and people from the north through the new positions in the country's civil service.

In addition, he tried to weaken his ally's political power by appointing Apithy to be the Ambassador of France while he was still the Vice President.

[9] Unfortunately giving political positions and channeling money to the north caused severe budgetary problems in the country which eventually led Maga to freeze wages for public employees leading to a general strike by unionists and students in October 1963.

Apithy, Ahomadégbé, and Maga declared a general boycott of the election which proved highly successful with only 33% of the eligible voters casting ballots.

In addition, to control continued deficits, Zinsou instituted a number of austerity measures and as a result alienated unions and the urban population.

[21] On 16 April 1970, Ahomadégbé and Maga met in the town of Savé, under French pressure,[22] and agreed to the notion of a single party controlling government with a rotating presidency.

[18] Historian Samuel Decalo commented that although coups and crises were regular in the country's short history, "the April 1970 crisis was the most ominous Dahomey had ever faced.

"[20] To reduce the tension throughout the country, all three candidates accepted the military governing council's resolution (written closely with Maga), which stipulated that starting in May 1970,[23] each of the three main candidates would be part of a Presidential Council that would hold all legislative and executive power in the government and decide on all major policy issues.

Although there were forces in the military opposed to the government, many of the coup leaders of the 1960s had largely left the country or withdrawn from politics.

[25] The relationship between the three leaders remained tense, but a Maga-Ahomadégbé alliance against Apithy on a number of issues kept the triumvirate functioning during Maga's tenure.

Each was provided significant funds to spend on their presidential residences, payment for many members of a personal staff, and given identical Mercedes-Benz W108s.

[33] On foreign policy, the Republic of Dahomey split with France and other African countries on the issues of China and South Africa.

Dahomey supported opening contact and trade relations with the regime, unlike much of the rest of the African states, and abstained on the final vote.

[29][38] The tensions between the three members reportedly became their most tense with the planned visit of French President Georges Pompidou in November.

[40][26] Kerekou announced the coup on national radio by saying that the "three headed figure [was] truly a monster" beset by "congenital deficiency...notorious inefficiency and...unpardonable incompetence.

[41] Kouandété was released from prison[37] and Kerekou named himself the new head of state appointing military officers to the various ministerial posts.