Alphonse Alley Alphonse Amadou Alley ( April 9 , 1930 – March 28 , 1987 ) was a Beninese army officer and political figure . He was most active when his country was known as Dahomey . He was born in Bassila , central Dahomey , and enrolled in schools in Togo , Cote d ' Ivoire , and Senegal before enlisting in the French army in 1950 . He saw combat in Indochina from 1950 to 1953 , in Morocco from 1955 to 1956 , and in Algeria from 1959 to 1961 . After the coup in 1965 , President Christophe Soglo promoted Alley Chief of Staff of the Army . Young army officer Maurice Kouandété was appointed Alley ' s " chef de cabinet " in 1967 . Kouandété launched another coup against Soglo on December 17 , but he was forced to hand power to Alley two days later . His administration oversaw the creation of a new constitution and a presidential election , Dahomey ' s first since 1964 . The results were annulled because of a boycott that prevented almost three - quarters of the country from voting . Alley lost popularity with the suggestion that the military should retreat back to the barracks , and was eventually reduced to a mouthpiece for Kouandété . On July 17 , 1968 , Alley was forced to hand power to Emile Zinsou , a veteran politician . Alley ' s retirement was marked by a series of discharges from the military , trials , and prison sentences . At one trial , Zinsou ' s conduct sparked another coup led by Kouandété . On October 26 , 1972 , Mathieu Kérékou seized power in a coup . He ended Alley ' s military career , as well as that of every other senior officer , and named Alley commissioner of the National Oil Wells ( SNADAH ) , a role with very little responsibiity . Kérékou accused Alley of plotting against him on February 28 , 1973 , and sentenced the latter to 20 years in prison . He died on March 28 , 1987 . Military background . Alley was born on April 9 , 1930 , in Bassila , central Dahomey . He was a member of the small Widji ethnic group , based in the north . His father was also a military commander , who served the French in Syria during 1942 and helped train police in Togo . Alphonse enrolled in schools in Togo , Cote d ' Ivoire , and Senegal until he enlisted in the French army in 1950 . His first combat operation later that year was at the Indochinese Peninsula for the First Indochina War . Alley withdrew in late 1953 , shortly before Operation Castor was launched at Dien Bien Phu . After this wartime experience , he went the Saint Maxient Officer School in France . He saw combat in Morocco from 1955 to 1956 and in Algeria from 1959 to 1961 , where he became a paratrooper . After Dahomey gained independence in 1960 , Alley travelled back to his homeland and led a paratrooper unit . At first , he was a lieutenant , but he was promoted to captain in 1962 and major in 1964 . Later that year he led several soldiers to the Dahomey - Niger border during a border dispute . Historian Samuel Decalo described Alley as " a jovial , dashing , easygoing and well - liked figure " and was known by diplomats as " the wine , women and song officer " . In Dahomeyan coups in 1963 and 1965 , Alley urged General Christophe Soglo to seize power . After the 1965 coup , Soglo promoted Alley Chief of Staff of the Army . Alley made known his disagreements with Soglo on several occasions , though he remained loyal nonetheless . Young army officer Maurice Kouandété was appointed Alley ' s " chef de cabinet " in 1967 and his frequent opposition to Alley during staff meetings helped to create factions in the Dahomeyan Army . 1967 coup d ' état . Kouandété had aspirations of his own . On December 17 , 1967 , he and 60 other soldiers led a military coup and toppled Soglo . Kouandété seized the presidency , though he was unsure what to do with it . Members of his faction urged the new president to remain at his post , though the general public ' s opinion was against him . Meanwhile , France refused to aid Dahomey and would not recognise Kouandété . He was forced to appointed Alley provisional president two days later , although Kouandété had placed Alley under house arrest and accused him of " shirking [ his ] duties " and maintained a " policy of appeasement . " Kouandété served as prime minister thereafter . President of Dahomey . Alley was one of the few figures who were trusted by northern and southern Dahomeyans alike . His role was only temporary , until power was to be ceded back to civilians in six months time . Among the events on the official timetable , which the military published on January 17 , 1968 , was the creation of a nonmilitary Constitution Commission on January 31 , which would write a new Dahomeyan constitution . The document granted Alley strong executive power , and was adopted by the Comite Militaire Revolutionaire , Alley ' s interim government comprisising only military officers , in early March . A national referendum on the constitution was held on March 31 , which passed with 92 percent in favor . The Comite decided to ban all former presidents , vice presidents , government ministers , and National Assembly presidents from the upcoming presidential election . This was to prevent Dahomeyan politics from repeating its practices of old . The Supreme Court ruled the proscription was unconstitutional , although Alley overruled the decision . He instead only recognised five candidates as legitimate . In response to their disqualification , former presidents Hubert Maga and Sourou - Migan Apithy staged protests while Justin Ahomadégbé - Tomêtin , another ex - president , supported an obscure candidate named Basile Adjou Moumouni . The election was held on May 15 , and was Dahomey ' s first since 1964 . Moumouni won the election with 80 percent of the vote , but Alley declared the result void because the protest prevented nearly three - quarters of the electorate from voting . This result sparked further demonstrations , and Maga , Apithy , Ahomadégbé - Tomêtin , and former president Christophe Soglo were forbidden to enter the country , in an attempt to crack down on dissent . Alley felt he had made a mistake in disqualifying Maga , Apithy , and Ahomadégbé - Tomêtin , as he believed that only they could bring unity to Dahomey . In a radio address on May 11 , Alley announced that due to the nullification , the military would heve to stay in power beyond June 17 . He noted that his administration would require extra time to find a successor who was backed by everyone . Alley suggested that the military should retreat back to the barracks at Camp Ghezo and leave Dahomeyan politics to the career politicians . The view was unpopular , and he was outvoted by his military comrades . Alley eventually became little more than Kouandété ' s mouthpiece . Alley attempted to remove Kouandété from the army , though to no avail . In any case , by June his fellow officers had made up their mind as to the next president . After talks with unionists , civil servants , and academics , they " entrust [ ed ] the reins of power to Émile Derlin Zinsou for at least five years " , who was " charged to form a government of national union " , as per a June 28 newspaper article by the state press . On July 17 , Alley handed power to Zinsou , a veteran politician . Later life . After Alley was retired from the presidency , he was purged from combat in the army and was assigned the new post of military attaché in Washington , D . C , an appointment he refused to accept . General Etienne Eyadema , the president of neighboring Togo , thought that this " serve [ d Alley ] right , for being stupid enough to give power back to the politicians . Don ' t think I ' m ever going to be that dumb . " Alley was discharged from the armed forces altogether in September , with Kouandété taking his place as Chief of Staff . On July 11 , 1969 , Kouandété accused Alley of plotting to kidnap and murder him . Facing the death penalty , Alley was sentenced to ten years of hard labor at an open trial held on October 4 . Zinsou had intervened for Alley , and it strained relations between the president and Kouandété . The latter decided to lead another coup on December 10 . In the aftermath , Alley was released from incarceration and reinstated in the army . In July 1968 , he was named Secretary General of National Defence . Kouandété ended up becoming Alley ' s adjutant . In 1971 , Alley allowed Togolese refugee Noe Kutuklui protection in Dahomey , despite official government policy to the contrary . On October 26 , 1972 , Mathieu Kérékou seized power in a coup . He ended Alley ' s military career , as well as that of every other senior officer , and named him commissioner of the National Oil Wells ( SNADAH ) , a role with very little responsibiity . Kérékou accused Alley of plotting against him on February 28 , 1973 , and sentenced him to 20 years in prison . He was released on amnesty on August 1 , 1984 , as well as all other political detainees besides those involved in the " ignoble and barbarous imperialist armed aggression of Sunday , January 16 , 1967 , " as the official press release states . Alley died on March 28 , 1987 . He was survived by his son , Zacharie . Plans for a mausoleum are in the works , decades after his death .