9 May 2013 Last updated at 12:27 ET

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President Faure Gnassingbe stepped into his father's shoes

President: Faure Gnassingbe Eyadema

Faure Gnassingbe Eyadema succeeded his father when he died in 2005, having ruled the country with an iron fist for 38 years.

The military installed Faure Gnassingbe as president, but following intense local and international pressure he stepped aside and called elections. Hundreds died challenging his victory in those polls.

In the subsequent presidential elections in March 2010, he was declared winner, with 61% of the ballots against the main opposition's candidate Jean-Pierre Fabre, who received 35% of the vote. The opposition cried foul again and staged repeated protests.

In talks to end the dispute, Gilchrist Olympio, leader of the main opposition Union of Forces for Change (UFC) and son of first post-independence president Sylvanus Olympio, struck a deal with Mr Gnassingbe under which the UFC would join the government.

However, the UFC rejected the deal and suspended Mr Olympio. Thousands of the party's supporters took to the streets to protest against the deal.

The president's father, Eyadema Gnassingbe, seized power in a 1967 coup.