Justin Ahomadegbé-Tomêtin (January 16, 1917 – March 8, 2002) was a Beninese politician most active when his country was known as Dahomey. He arose on a political scene where one's power was dictated by what region of Dahomey one lived in. He served as president of the National Assembly of Dahomey from April 1959 to November 1960 and as prime minister and vice president of Dahomey from 1964 to 1965. Ahomadégbé became President as part of a system that rotated the office between three leading political figures: Ahomadégbé, Hubert Maga, and Sourou-Migan Apithy. Maga peacefully handed power to Ahomadégbé on May 7, 1972. On October 26, 1972, he was overthrown in a coup d'état led by Mathieu Kérékou. All three remained under house arrest until 1981. Early life and entry into politics Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin was born on January 16, 1917, a direct descendant of the kings of Abomey, the town of his birth. He attended the École William Ponty and the French West Africa School of Medicine in Dakar. He served in the French Army for a short while, where he attained the rank of sergeant. After his short military career, Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin decided to pursue dentistry, opening an office in Porto-Novo. Originally a member of the Dahomeyan Progressive Union (UPD), in 1946 he established the African People's Bloc (BPA), and was elected to the General Council shortly afterwards. He was re-elected in 1952. In 1955 the BPA merged with the UPD to established the Dahomeyan Democratic Union (UDD). He was a vocal critic of the French rule, and gained influence upon allying himself with trade unions. Using this, Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin was elected Mayor of Abomey in November 1956 elections. The results of the territorial elections of 1959 were as such: the Republican Party of Dahomey (PRD), led by Sourou-Migan Apithy received 37 seats with 144,038 votes; the Dahomeyan Democratic Rally (RDD), led by Hubert Maga received 22 seats with 62,132 votes; and Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin's UDD receiving just 11 deputies for its 162,179 votes. What followed was described by journalist Robert Matthews as "an immediate explosion". Supporters of Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin started riots that were so severe that French soldiers were called in to quell them. Apithy and Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin agreed to split the contested 18 seats in a southwest constituency among themselves as a result of a mediation performed by Félix Houphouët-Boigny. However, Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin made it clear that he would not allow Apithy to remain the