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The 1980 Upper Voltan coup d'état took place on 25 November 1980 in the
Republic of Upper Volta The Republic of Upper Volta (french: République de Haute-Volta) was a landlocked West African country established on 11 December 1958 as a self-governing colony within the French Community. Before becoming autonomous, it had been part of the ...
(today
Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...
). Following a long period of drought, famine, popular unrest and labour strikes, Colonel
Saye Zerbo Saye Zerbo (27 August 1932 – 19 September 2013) was a Burkinabé military officer who was the third President of the Republic of Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso) from 25 November 1980 until 7 November 1982. He led a coup in 1980, but was resisted ...
overthrew President
Sangoulé Lamizana Aboubakar Sangoulé Lamizana (31 January 1916 – 26 May 2005) was a Burkinabé military officer who served as the President of Upper Volta (since 1984 renamed Burkina Faso), in power from 3 January 1966, to 25 November 1980. He held the a ...
, another military leader. Zerbo himself would be overthrown only two years later.


Background

Upper Volta had gained independence from
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
in 1960, after which President
Maurice Yaméogo Maurice Yaméogo (31 December 1921 – 15 September 1993) was the first President of the Republic of Upper Volta, now called Burkina Faso, from 1959 until 1966. "Monsieur Maurice" embodied the Voltaic state at the moment of independence. However ...
set about creating a single-party dictatorship ruled by his own
Voltaic Democratic Union The African Democratic Rally (''Rassemblement Démocratique Africain'') is a political party in Burkina Faso. It was originally known as the Voltaic Democratic Union-African Democratic Rally (UDV-RDA) and was formed in 1957 as the Voltaic sectio ...
. Following several rigged elections and a new austerity budget being instituted, the powerful
trade unions A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and Employee ben ...
rose up against the President, which caused the
1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état The 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état was an event which took place on 3 January 1966 in the Republic of Upper Volta (today Burkina Faso), when following large-scale popular unrest the military intervened against the government, forced President Mauri ...
, in which Lieutenant Colonel Sangoulé Lamizana took power. This marked the beginning of a long era of military rule in Upper Volta and later Burkina Faso. Lamizana would go on to rule the country as a military dictator until the Upper Voltan presidential election in 1978, when he was elected as the leader of a civilian regime. During the 1970s, the Lamizana government faced many problems, among them continued opposition from the trade unions, the rise of new political opposition groups, a strong
Sahel drought The Sahel region of Africa has long experienced a series of historic droughts, dating back to at least the 17th century. The Sahel region is a climate zone sandwiched between the Sudanian Savanna to the south and the Sahara desert to the north, ...
, increasing
desertification Desertification is a type of land degradation in drylands in which biological productivity is lost due to natural processes or induced by human activities whereby fertile areas become increasingly arid. It is the spread of arid areas caused by ...
, and so on. The need for foreign aid reached record levels, in 1979 making up a full 70% of the government budget. In February 1979 the major trade unions launched a new anti-Lamizana campaign. In May, two prominent labour leaders were arrested for inciting revolt – week-long protest strikes soon led to their release. Two months later, Lamizana denounced the unionist demands, calling for national unity. By December, the president finally acknowledges the country's dependence on Western aid for survival. On 7 January 1980, a general strike began. It proved brief, but more trouble lay ahead for Lamizana by the end of the year.


Coup

On 1 October, school teachers started striking, which transformed into a full general strike by early November, putting heavy pressure on the government. On 12 November, President Lamizana survived a motion of no confidence, with a 33–24 vote margin. While the teachers agreed on 22 November to go back to work, the unrest had yet to culminate. On 25 November, Colonel Saye Zerbo led a
military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
''
coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...
'', overthrowing President Lamizana. The coup proved both bloodless and successful. The riot police, deployed against the striking workers, attempted a counter-coup in support of Lamizana, but failed to reinstate him. Zerbo – a military veteran, former Minister of Foreign Affairs 1974–1976, commander of the army regiment in the capital
Ouagadougou Ouagadougou ( , , ) is the capital and largest city of Burkina Faso and the administrative, communications, cultural, and economic centre of the nation. It is also the country's largest city, with a population of 2,415,266 in 2019. The city's n ...
, and head of military intelligence – suspended the constitution, and established the Military Committee of Recovery for National Progress (french: Comité Militaire de Redressement pour le Progrès National, CMPRN), a 31-member junta. Several members of the junta were young and radical, among them future presidents
Thomas Sankara Thomas Isidore Noël Sankara (; 21 December 1949 – 15 October 1987) was a Burkinabé military officer, Marxist–Leninist revolutionary, and Pan-Africanist, who served as President of Burkina Faso from his coup in 1983 to his deposition and ...
and
Blaise Compaoré Blaise Compaoré (born 3 February 1951)''Profiles of People in Power: The World's Government Leaders'' (2003), page 76–77.
. Among the parts of society that supported the coup were the
Mossi people Mossi may refer to: *Mossi people *Mossi language *Mossi Kingdoms * the Mossi, a Burkinabe variant of the Dongola horse *Mossi (given name) *Mossi (surname) See also *Mossie (disambiguation) *Mossy (disambiguation) Mossy may refer to: Places *Mos ...
and the Upper Voltan
Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, two groups sidelined by Lamizana, although Zerbo like his predecessor was a Bissa
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
.


Aftermath

The new President Zerbo initially had the support of the trade unions, as Lamizana once had after his 1966 coup, winning the support of the striking teachers by giving in to most of their demands. The traditional chieftains also supported Zerbo. On 16 December, he established a 16-member cabinet. This contention didn't last long – the government faced large protests already in May, after Zerbo announced the imposition of mandatory military service and warned the unions to watch their tone towards the regime. Later, after continued unrest, he would ban labour strikes a few weeks ahead of the coup's one-year anniversary. After two years of similar actions, Zerbo was overthrown by the military in yet another coup in 1982, making Major Dr.
Jean-Baptiste Ouédraogo Jean-Baptiste Philippe Ouédraogo (; born 30 June 1942), also referred to by his initials JBO, is a Burkinabé physician and retired military officer who served as President of Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso) from 8 November 1982 to 4 August 198 ...
President. Military rule has continued in the country since then, with numerous coups and coup attempts.


See also

*
History of Burkina Faso The history of Burkina Faso includes the history of various kingdoms within the country, such as the Mossi kingdoms, as well as the later French colonisation of the territory and its independence as the Republic of Upper Volta in 1960. Ancie ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1980 Upper Voltan coup d'etat Upper Volta Upper Volta Military coups in Burkina Faso 1980s in Upper Volta November 1980 events in Africa