Edem Tengue
Kokou Edem Tengue is a politician born on September 24, 1980, in Lomé. He is a Togolese business executive, economist, and chartered accountant.
On October 1, 2020, he was appointed Minister of Maritime Economy, Fisheries, and Coastal Protection in the Victoire Tomegah Dogbé government.
He left the Ministry of Maritime Economy on August 20, 2024, to become Minister at the Presidency of the Republic.
Early life and education
[edit]Edem Tengue is the son of Kokou Frederic Tengue, head of Togo's banking training center from 1986 to 2004, and Danhoui Amegnihoue, a civil servant in the Togolese Ministry of National Education. [necessary]
A graduate of Sciences Po Paris,[1] the University of Leicester, and the University of Birmingham, he joined the Maersk Group's training program in Copenhagen from 2003 to 2005.[2] He also earned an MBA from Imperial College London.[1]
Career
[edit]From 2005 to 2007, he was assigned as Assistant to the Chief Financial Officer of the Group's regional office, which covered all of Scandinavia and the Baltic States.[1] He was then based in Gothenburg, Sweden.[2]
He returned to Togo as Chief Financial Officer of the three group companies: Maersk Togo S.A., Damco Togo S.A., and Lomé Terminal Service, which the Maersk Group had created to bid for the privatization of handling activities at the Port of Lomé. He was appointed Commercial Director and then Managing Director of the Togolese subsidiary of the Danish conglomerate Maersk.[3]
He was elected President of the Association of Maritime Navigation Companies of Togo.[4]
As an economist, Tengue has worked extensively on sovereign debt issues in African countries,[5] culminating in a dissertation at the University of Birmingham[6] and a doctoral thesis at the University of Lomé on the determinants and sustainability of public debt. He argues, in particular, that debt relief programs are not very effective if they do not address the determinants of debt such as demographics, imports, and exports. He argues that it is by reducing demographics and imports and increasing exports in value that the trend of debt accumulation in African countries can be sustainably reversed.[6] He also argues that southern states with a coastal coastline should, through the development and sustainable development of this coastline (port activities, tourism activities), create a showcase of prosperity that should spill over into their hinterland.[6]
Political career
[edit]He was elected to the Togolese National Assembly in the Haho constituency under the UNIR party banner during the 2018 legislative elections. However, he resigned after three months.[1]
On October 1, 2020, he was appointed Minister of Maritime Economy.[7][8]
In the legislative and regional elections of April 29, 2024, he was re-elected in the Haho constituency.[8]
On August 20, 2024, he was appointed Minister at the Presidency of the Republic.[9]
On the political level, in his memoirs at the Paris Institute of Political Studies, he asserts that the link between democracy and development cannot be clearly established, contrary to the promises of the La Baule Discourse. He argues that it is better to build democratic fundamentals through the construction of a rule of law and economic freedoms.[5]
The man who was Togolese's first minister of maritime economy and coastal protection believes that maritime stakeholders are on the front line in saving biodiversity.[10] He advocates for a blue economy that would be an accelerator of sustainable growth. His ministerial department has emphasized aquaculture and imposed a sub-regional biological rest period.[11]
Professional associations
[edit]Tengue is an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants of the United Kingdom (CIMA)[1] the Certified Practising Accountant | CPA Australia (CPA Australia),[12] and the Leadership and Management Institute of the United Kingdom ILM.[13]
Awards and recognition
[edit]- 2017: Among the 20 Young Leaders of the French-African Foundation[4]
- 2018: Choiseuil ranking of tomorrow's economic leaders[4]
- 2022: Among the thirty most influential young economists in sub-Saharan Africa of the ICCE (Institute of Certified Chartered Economists)[14]
- 2018: Officer of the Order of Mono[15]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e "Togo : Edem Tengue, un produit du secteur maritime dans son biotope". Oeil d\'Afrique. 21 October 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
- ^ a b "Edem Kokou Tengue, ambassadeur de la réussite". République Togolaise. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
- ^ First, Togo. "Edem Kokou Tengue, le patron de Maersk Togo, entre au gouvernement". www.togofirst.com. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
- ^ a b c Rédaction, La (13 December 2019). "Togo : Edem Kokou Tengue porté à la tête de la NAVITOGO". Retrieved 18 September 2025.
- ^ a b Publisher, Post (7 January 2023). "Togo / Thèse de Doctorat : les leviers du Dr Edem Kokou TENGUE pour alléger le poids de la dette publique".
- ^ a b c "Memoire Online - Public debt of Togo: an attempt to identify the explanatory factors - Kokou Edem TENGUE". Memoire Online.
- ^ "Kokou Edem Tengue - Ministre". Ministry of Maritime Economy, Fisheries and Coastal Protection, Togo. Archived from the original on 23 July 2024.
- ^ a b https://balticnewsdesk.com/edem-kokou-tengue-from-maersk-to-minister-of-maritime-economy-fisheries-and-coastal-protection/[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Politique : le chef de l'État a nommé les membres du nouveau gouvernement". Presidency of the Republic of Togo. 23 August 2024. Archived from the original on 23 December 2024.
- ^ "Voeux 2023 - Ministère de l'Economie Maritime et de la Protection Côtière Voeux 2023 Kokou Edem Tengue". 1 January 2023.
- ^ "Togo : Edem Tengue, un produit du secteur maritime dans son biotope". Oeil d\'Afrique. 21 October 2021.
- ^ Diawara, Malick (19 July 2017). "Young Leaders AfricaFrance : ce qu'ils veulent et rêvent pour l'Afrique - Page 4". Le Point.
- ^ Infos, Focus (9 October 2020). "Edem Kokou Tengue, l'ambassadeur de la réussite et de l'excellence".
- ^ "Edem Tengue parmi les 30 économistes influents de l'Afrique subsaharienne - Togo Breaking News". 14 December 2022.
- ^ Journal officiel de la République togolaise, 6 juin 2018[dead link]
- Living people
- 1980 births
- Union for the Republic (Togo) politicians
- Maritime economy, fisheries and coastal protection ministers of Togo
- Togolese businesspeople
- Togolese economists
- Sciences Po alumni
- Alumni of the University of Leicester
- Alumni of the University of Birmingham
- Alumni of Imperial College London
- Officers of the Order of Mono