Iropa Maurice Kouandété

Iropa Maurice Kouandété
President Maurice Kouandété
President of Dahomey
In office 17 December 1967 – 19 December 1967
Preceded by	Christophe Soglo
Succeeded by	Alphonse Amadou Alley
President of Dahomey
In office 10 December 1969 – 13 December 1969
Preceded by	Émile Derlin Zinsou
Succeeded by	Paul-Émile de Souza
Personal details
Born	(1932-09-22)22 September 1932 Gaba District, Dahomey
Died	7 April 2003(2003-04-07) (aged 70) Natitingou
Occupation	Military Officer

Iropa Maurice Kouandété (22 September 1932 – 7 April 2003) was a military officer and politician in Benin (known as Dahomey until 1975). He was born to Somba parents in the Gaba District of Dahomey. Kouandété enrolled in the army in his late teens. Over the years, he became popular among junior soldiers in the north and gained the contempt of those in the south. Jim Hoagland of The Washington Post described Kouandété as a "moody, brilliant and highly ambitious soldier".

On 17 December 1967 Kouandété led a military coup and toppled President Christophe Soglo. Kouandété seized the presidency, although he was unsure how to wield it. He handed power to Alphonse Alley two days later, and forced him to retire in 1968 in favor of Kouandété's choice, Emile Derlin Zinsou. Kouandété was appointed chief of staff of Dahomey's 1,500-man army and launched another coup against Zinsou, on 10 December 1969, to defend it. The military did not recognise Kouandété as legitimate, and the elections that followed paved the way toward a Presidential Council form of government. Kouandété attempted to usurp to power again at dawn on 23 March 1972, but the convoluted plot was foiled and Kouandété was sentenced to death. Kouandete was immediately pardoned when Major Mathieu Kérékou, his cousin, seized power on 26 October. After his pardon, Kouandété retired from military life and died in 2003.

Kouandété was born in the Gaba District of northern Dahomey to Somba parents. He was a cousin of Mathieu Kérékou, who also become president of Benin. In his late teens, Kouandété enrolled in the army, and went to Ecole Militaire and Saint Cyr in France. He began to rebel against superior officers such as Colonels Christophe Soglo and Alphonse Alley as well as, by extension, the entire Fon hierarchy, who dominated the Dahomeyan military. He grew in popularity among junior northern soldiers while those in the south increased their contempt of him. Jim Hoagland of The Washington Post described Kouandété as a "moody, brilliant and highly ambitious soldier".