United States Foreign Relations Benin

Nicephore Soglo, the first democratically elected president of Benin since its independence, arrives in Washington on Wednesday for a four-day visit highlighted by a meeting with President Clinton on Thursday. Benin (the former Dahomey) is looked on as one of the few examples of an African dictatorship transforming itself into a democracy. Col. Mathieu Kerekou took power in a coup in 1972, proclaimed Benin a Marxist-Leninist state and ruled for almost two decades.

Nicephore Soglo, the first democratically elected president of Benin since its independence, arrives in Washington on Wednesday for a four-day visit highlighted by a meeting with President Clinton on Thursday. Benin (the former Dahomey) is looked on as one of the few examples of an African dictatorship transforming itself into a democracy. Col. Mathieu Kerekou took power in a coup in 1972, proclaimed Benin a Marxist-Leninist state and ruled for almost two decades.