Véronique Massan Osséyi

She was born in 1940 or 1941^[1] in northern Togo.^[2] She was the daughter of "Mama" Yawa Osséyi.^[3] She attended a high school in Lomé. Among her classmates were the writer Koffi Gomez and the pioneer of Togolese radio Charles Ameganvi.^[4] Osséyi then studied law in France, first at the University of Caen Normandy^[5] and later at the French National School for the Judiciary, in the 1970s.^[6] She obtained scholarships from the Togolese government at the time to support her studies.^[5][6]

Later, she became a judge in Lomé^[7] and then a renowned minister,^[2] also marrying Gnassingbé Eyadéma.^[2] Dagadzi was also a jurist who focused on the issue of women's roles in Togolese society.^[7][8][9] She was the mother of four children, including Mey Gnassingbé, and became a magistrate in 1972.^[10] During her career, she became commander of the Order of Mono and Grand Officer of the National Order of Merit.^[1]

She died on 7 March 2010 in Paris, and after a vigil at the Presbyterian Church of Lomé, Osséyi was buried in Amou Oblo^[1] in presence of the then President of the National Assembly, Abass Bonfoh.^[5]