Sylvanus Olympio

Sylvanus Epiphanio Olympio (1902 - 13 January 1963) was a Togolese political figure.

He served as the Prime Minister of Togo from 1958 to 1963. He then served as the first President of Togo between 1961 and 1963, when he was assassinated in a military coup d'état on January 13th. The leader of the coup, Col Gnassingbé Eyadéma, who later assumed the presidency in 1967 and held it until his death in 2005, claimed to have personally fired the shot which killed Olympio.

His son, Gilchrist Olympio , is currently the most prominent opposition leader in Togo.