Edem Kodjo

Kodjo, 67, is a moderate opposition leader who served as prime minister 1994-96 under Gnassingbe's father, Gnassingbe Eyadema, the 38-year dictator whose Feb. 5 death spun Togo into crisis. He told reporters June 9 he had no "immediate responsibility to begin another round of dialogue with the coalition parties, which ended in failure."

He was credited with helping buttress the tottering Togolese economy in 1994, and for legislating amnesty laws that guaranteed the return of over 300,000 refugees who fled Togo during opposition clashes with the security forces in 1993.

The Japan Times Weekly: June 18, 2005
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