Benin By dwlehrhardt Period: 1956 to 1956 x 1960 Hubert Maga president Aug 1, 1960 Republic of Dahomey Period: 1963 to 1972 Six coups d'état 1964 Sourou-Migan Apithy president 1972 Justin Ahomadégbé president 1972 Major Mathieu Kérékou president Period: 1974 to 1989 Marxist-Leninist state policy 1975 Renaming: People's Republic of Benin 1991 First multiparty elections 1991 Nicéphore Soglo president 1996 Mathieu Kérékou elected president 2006 Thomas Boni Yayi elected president 2012 Arrest in plot to poison President Yayi 2013 Red Wednesday protests again Yayi 2016 Patrice Talon elected president
