Komi Sélom Klassou

Komi Sélom Klassou
Prime Minister of Togo
Incumbent
Assumed office 10 June 2015
President	Faure Gnassingbé
Preceded by	Kwesi Ahoomey-Zunu
Personal details
Born	10 February 1960 Notsé, Togo
Political party	Rally of the Togolese People (Before 2012) Union for the Republic (2012– present)

Komi Sélom Klassou (born February 10, 1960^[1][2]) is a Togolese politician who has been Prime Minister of Togo since 2015. A member of the ruling Union for the Republic (UNIR), he served as Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports from 2000 to 2003, as Minister of Primary and Secondary Education from 2003 to 2007, and as First Vice-President of the National Assembly from 2007 to 2015.

Klassou was appointed as Prime Minister of Togo on 5 June 2015.

Life and career

Klassou was born in Notsé in Haho Prefecture.^[1][2] He was appointed as Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports in the government named on October 8, 2000,^[3][4] serving in that position until he was appointed as Minister of Primary and Secondary Education in the government named on July 29, 2003.^[4][5] He also directed Faure Gnassingbé's campaign in the April 2005 presidential election, and after the Constitutional Court declared Gnassingbé the winner of the election, which was disputed by the opposition, Klassou called it "a great victory for the people of Togo".^[6]

Klassou served as Minister of Primary and Secondary Education for more than four years. He was the first candidate on the Rally of the Togolese People's candidate list for Haho Prefecture in the October 2007 parliamentary election^[2] and was successful in winning a seat.^[7] On November 24, 2007, he was elected as the First Vice-President of the National Assembly,^[8] and he was replaced in his ministerial post in the government named on December 13, 2007.^[9]

Klassou was a member of the Political Bureau of the RPT.^[10]

Following the July 2013 parliamentary election, Klassou was re-elected as First Vice-President of the National Assembly on 2 September 2013.^[11]

Following President Gnassingbé's re-election in the April 2015 presidential election, he appointed Klassou as Prime Minister on 5 June 2015.^[12][13] Klassou took office on 10 June 2015, succeeding Kwesi Ahoomey-Zunu.^[14] The composition of the new government headed by Klassou, which included 23 ministers, was announced on 28 June 2015.^[15]

References

1. List of ministers in the 2006-2007 government, etiame.com (French).
2. List of 2007 candidates in Haho Prefecture, CENI website (French).
3. "Le gouvernement du Togo, formé le 8 octobre 2000", Afrique Express (French).
4. List of members of the Togolese government (2005 archive page), presse-francophone.org (French).
5. "Le Togo annonce la composition du nouveau gouvernement", Xinhua, July 31, 2003 (French).
6. "Togo: Father-son transition made official as thousands continue to flee", IRIN, May 3, 2005.
7. Text of Constitutional Court decision (final election results), October 30, 2007 (French).
8. "Abbas Bonfoh élu président de l'Assemblée", République Togolaise website, November 27, 2007 (French).
9. "Léopold Gnininvi aux Affaires étrangères", République Togolaise website, December 13, 2007 (French).
10. List of members of the RPT Political Bureau, RPT website (French).
11. "Dramani au perchoir", République Togolaise website, 2 September 2013 (French).
12. "Klassou quitte l’Assemblée pour la Primature", République Togolaise website, 5 June 2015 (French).
13. Kossi Woussou, "Togolese president appoints Komi Klassou as prime minister", Bloomberg, 6 June 2015.
14. "Le Premier ministre a pris ses fonctions", République Togolaise website, 10 June 2015 (French).
15. "Et voici l'équipe Klassou", République Togolaise website, 28 June 2015 (French).