History Of Burkina Faso
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Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞀄𞀔đž€Ș𞀳𞀭đž€Č𞀹 𞀊𞀹𞀧𞀟, 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 ...
includes the history of various kingdoms within the country, such as the
Mossi kingdoms The Mossi Kingdoms, sometimes referred to as the Mossi Empire, were a group of powerful kingdoms in modern-day Burkina Faso which dominated the region of the upper Volta river for hundreds of years. The largest Mossi kingdoms was that of Ouagad ...
, as well as the later French colonisation of the territory and its independence as the
Republic of Upper Volta The Republic of Upper Volta (french: RĂ©publique 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 ...
in 1960.


Ancient and medieval history

Iron production Iron () is a chemical element with Symbol (chemistry), symbol Fe (from la, Wikt:ferrum, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 element, group 8 of the periodic table. It is, Abundance ...
occurred in regions near
Douroula Douroula is a town in Burkina Faso. It is the county seat of Douroula Department in the province Mouhoun. Near the town are ruins of a smelting furnace and evidence of ferrous metallurgy dating back to the 8th century BC. This is the oldest c ...
at least as far back as the 8th century BC and was widely practiced across the region by the 5th century BC. Furnaces, mines, and surrounding dwellings dating from this time period are found across the country. Recent archeological discoveries at Bura in southwest
Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesBurkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞀄𞀔đž€Ș𞀳𞀭đž€Č𞀹 𞀊𞀹𞀧𞀟, 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 ...
have documented the existence of the
iron-age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly a ...
Bura culture from the 3rd century to the 13th century. The Bura-Asinda system of settlements apparently covered the lower
Niger River The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through ...
valley, including the Boura region of Burkina Faso. Further research is needed to understand the role this early
civilization A civilization (or civilisation) is any complex society characterized by the development of a state, social stratification, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyond natural spoken language (namely, a writing system). Ci ...
played in the
ancient Ancient history is a time period from the History of writing, beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian language, Sumerian c ...
and
medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
history of West Africa The history of West Africa has been divided into its prehistory, the Iron Age in Africa, the major polities flourishing, the colonial period, and finally the post-independence era, in which the current nations were formed. West Africa is west o ...
. Loropéni is an ancient stone ruin which was linked to the gold trade between the 14th and 17th centuries. It is a
World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
. From medieval times until the end of the 19th century, the central region of present day Burkina Faso was ruled by 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 ...
, descendants of warriors of the Dagomba people of present-day
Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
, who mixed with Mandé and other local peoples in the 11th century. During this time the
Mossi Kingdoms The Mossi Kingdoms, sometimes referred to as the Mossi Empire, were a group of powerful kingdoms in modern-day Burkina Faso which dominated the region of the upper Volta river for hundreds of years. The largest Mossi kingdoms was that of Ouagad ...
successfully defended their territory, religious beliefs and social structure against forcible attempts at conquest and conversion by their
Muslim Muslims ( ar, Ű§Ù„Ù…ŰłÙ„Ù…ÙˆÙ†, , ) 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 ...
neighbors to the northwest.


French Upper Volta

The French arrived and claimed the area in 1896, but Mossi resistance ended only with the capture of their 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 ...
in 1901. In 1919, certain provinces from
Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as CĂŽte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of CĂŽte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...
were united into
French Upper Volta Upper Volta (french: Haute-Volta) was a colony of French West Africa established in 1919 in the territory occupied by present-day Burkina Faso. It was formed from territories that had been part of the colonies of Upper Senegal and Niger and th ...
in the
French West Africa French West Africa (french: Afrique-Occidentale française, ) was a federation of eight French colonial territories in West Africa: Mauritania, Senegal, French Sudan (now Mali), French Guinea (now Guinea), Ivory Coast, Upper Volta (now Burki ...
federation. In 1932, the new colony was split up for economic reasons; it was reconstituted in 1937 as an administrative division called the Upper Coast. After World War II, the Mossi actively pressured the French for separate territorial status and on September 4, 1947, Upper Volta became a French West African territory again in its own right. A revision in the organization of French Overseas Territories began with the passage of the Basic Law (Loi Cadre) of July 23, 1956. This act was followed by reorganizational measures approved by the French parliament early in 1957 that ensured a large degree of self-government for individual territories. Upper Volta became an autonomous republic in the French community on December 11, 1958. On July 11, 1960 France agreed to Upper Volta becoming fully independent.


Republic of Upper Volta

The
Republic of Upper Volta The Republic of Upper Volta (french: RĂ©publique 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 ...
declared independence on 5 August 1960. The first president,
Maurice YamĂ©ogo Maurice YamĂ©ogo (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 ...
, was the leader of the
Voltaic Democratic Union The African Democratic Rally (''Rassemblement DĂ©mocratique 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 ...
(UDV). The 1960 constitution provided for election by universal suffrage of a president and a national assembly for 5-year terms. Soon after coming to power, Yaméogo banned all political parties other than the UDV. Yaméogo's government was viewed as corrupt and said to perpetuate
neo-colonialism Neocolonialism is the continuation or reimposition of imperialist rule by a state (usually, a former colonial power) over another nominally independent state (usually, a former colony). Neocolonialism takes the form of economic imperialism, gl ...
by favoring French political and economic interests which had allowed politicians to enrich themselves but not the nation's peasants or small class of urban workers. The government lasted until 1966 when—after much unrest including mass demonstrations and strikes by students, labor unions, and civil servants—the military intervened and deposed YamĂ©ogo in the 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'Ă©tat. The coup leaders suspended the constitution, dissolved the National Assembly, and placed Lieutenant Colonel
SangoulĂ© Lamizana Aboubakar SangoulĂ© Lamizana (31 January 1916 – 26 May 2005) was a BurkinabĂ© 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 ...
at the head of a government of senior army officers. The army remained in power for 4 years; on June 14, 1970, the Voltans ratified a new constitution that established a 4-year transition period toward complete civilian rule. Lamizana remained in power throughout the 1970s as president of military or mixed civil-military governments. He faced a major crisis in the form of the
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, ...
and was sent in 1973 to the UN and the US in order to secure aid. After conflict over the 1970 constitution, a new constitution was written and approved in 1977, and Lamizana was reelected by open elections in 1978. Lamizana's government faced problems with the country's traditionally powerful trade unions, and on November 25, 1980, Colonel
Saye Zerbo Saye Zerbo (27 August 1932 – 19 September 2013) was a BurkinabĂ© 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 Lamizana in a
bloodless coup A nonviolent revolution is a revolution conducted primarily by unarmed civilians using tactics of civil resistance, including various forms of nonviolent protest, to bring about the departure of governments seen as entrenched and authoritari ...
. Colonel Zerbo established the Military Committee of Recovery for National Progress as the supreme governmental authority, thus eradicating the 1977 constitution. Colonel Zerbo also encountered resistance from trade unions and was overthrown two years later on November 7, 1982, by 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 ...
and the Council of Popular Salvation (CSP). The CSP continued to ban political parties and organizations, yet promised a transition to civilian rule and a new constitution. Infighting developed between the right and left factions of the CSP. The leader of the leftists, Capt.
Thomas Sankara Thomas Isidore NoĂ«l Sankara (; 21 December 1949 – 15 October 1987) was a BurkinabĂ© military officer, Marxist–Leninist revolutionary, and Pan-Africanist, who served as President of Burkina Faso from his coup in 1983 to his deposition a ...
, was appointed prime minister in January 1983, but subsequently arrested. Efforts to free him, directed by Capt.
Blaise CompaorĂ© Blaise CompaorĂ© (born 3 February 1951)''Profiles of People in Power: The World's Government Leaders'' (2003), page 76–77.
, resulted in a military coup d'Ă©tat on 4 August 1983. The coup brought Sankara to power and his government began to implement a series of revolutionary programs which included mass-vaccinations, infrastructure improvements, the expansion of women's rights, encouragement of domestic agricultural consumption and anti-desertification projects.''Thomas Sankara: The Upright Man''
by ''
California Newsreel California Newsreel, was founded in 1968 as the San Francisco branch of the national film making collective Newsreel. It is an American non-profit, social justice film distribution and production company still based in San Francisco, California. Th ...
''


Burkina Faso

On 2 August 1984, on President Sankara's initiative, the country's name was changed from Upper Volta to Burkina Faso (''land of the upright/honest people''). The presidential decree was confirmed by the National Assembly on 4 August. Sankara's government formed the National Council for the Revolution (CNR), with Sankara as its president, and established popular
Committees for the Defense of the Revolution Committees for the Defense of the Revolution ( es, Comités de Defensa de la Revolución, links=no), or CDR, are a network of neighborhood committees across Cuba. The organizations, described as the "eyes and ears of the Revolution," exist to h ...
(CDRs). The
Pioneers of the Revolution The Pioneers of the Revolution () was a youth organisation in Burkina Faso, modelled along the pattern of the pioneer movements typically operated by communist parties, such as the contemporary Pioneers of Enver, José Martí Pioneer Organisati ...
youth programme was also established. Sankara launched an ambitious socioeconomic programme for change, one of the largest ever undertaken on the African continent. His foreign policies were centred on
anti-imperialism Anti-imperialism in political science and international relations is a term used in a variety of contexts, usually by nationalist movements who want to secede from a larger polity (usually in the form of an empire, but also in a multi-ethnic so ...
, his government denying all foreign aid, pushing for
odious debt In international law, odious debt, also known as illegitimate debt, is a legal theory that says that the national debt incurred by a despotic regime should not be enforceable. Such debts are, thus, considered by this doctrine to be personal debts ...
reduction, nationalising all land and mineral wealth and averting the power and influence of the
International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster globa ...
(IMF) and
World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
. His domestic policies included a nationwide literacy campaign, land redistribution to peasants, railway and road construction and the outlawing of
female genital mutilation Female genital mutilation (FGM), also known as female genital cutting, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and female circumcision, is the ritual cutting or removal of some or all of the external female genitalia. The practice is found ...
,
forced marriage Forced marriage is a marriage in which one or more of the parties is married without their consent or against their will. A marriage can also become a forced marriage even if both parties enter with full consent if one or both are later force ...
s and
polygamy Crimes Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is married ...
.Commemorating Thomas Sankara
by Farid Omar, ''Group for Research and Initiative for the Liberation of Africa'' (GRILA), November 28, 2007
Sankara pushed for agrarian self-sufficiency and promoted public health by vaccinating 2,500,000 children against
meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, headache, and neck stiffness. Other symptoms include confusion or ...
,
yellow fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. In ...
, and
measles Measles is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by measles virus. Symptoms usually develop 10–12 days after exposure to an infected person and last 7–10 days. Initial symptoms typically include fever, often greater than , cough, ...
. His national agenda also included planting over 10,000,000 trees to halt the growing
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 ...
of the
Sahel The Sahel (; ar, ŰłŰ§Ű­Ù„ ' , "coast, shore") is a region in North Africa. It is defined as the ecoclimatic and biogeographic realm of transition between the Sahara to the north and the Sudanian savanna to the south. Having a hot semi-arid c ...
. Sankara called on every village to build a medical dispensary and had over 350 communities build schools with their own labour.


Five-day War with Mali

On Christmas Day 1985, tensions with
Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, đž€ˆđž€«đž€Č𞄆𞀣𞀹𞄄đž€Č𞀣𞀭 đž€ƒđž€ąđž„„đž€€đž€­, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, ŰŹÙ…Ù‡ÙˆŰ±ÙŠŰ© Ù…Ű§Ù„ÙŠ, JumhĆ«riyyāt MālÄ« is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...
over the mineral-rich
Agacher Strip The Agacher Strip War ( French: ''Guerre de la Bande d’Agacher'') or Christmas War (French: ''Guerre de NoĂ«l'') was a war fought by Burkina Faso and Mali over a strip of land along the border in northern Burkina Faso from 25 to 30 Decembe ...
erupted in a war that lasted five days and killed about 100 people. The conflict ended after mediation by President
FĂ©lix HouphouĂ«t-Boigny FĂ©lix HouphouĂ«t-Boigny (; 18 October 1905 â€“ 7 December 1993), affectionately called Papa HouphouĂ«t or Le Vieux ("The Old One"), was the first president of Ivory Coast, serving from 1960 until his death in 1993. A tribal chief, he wo ...
of
Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as CĂŽte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of CĂŽte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...
. The conflict is known as the "Christmas war" in Burkina Faso. Many of the strict austerity measures taken by Sankara met with growing resistance and disagreement. Despite his initial popularity and personal charisma, problems began to surface in the implementation of the revolutionary ideals.


Rule of Blaise Compaoré

The CDRs, which were formed as popular mass organizations, deteriorated in some areas into gangs of armed thugs and clashed with several trade unions. Tensions over the repressive tactics of the government and its overall direction mounted steadily. On October 15, 1987, Sankara was
assassinated Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...
in a coup which brought Captain
Blaise CompaorĂ© Blaise CompaorĂ© (born 3 February 1951)''Profiles of People in Power: The World's Government Leaders'' (2003), page 76–77.
to power. Compaoré, Captain
Henri Zongo Henri Zongo (died 19 September 1989) was a Burkinabé politician and military officer. He served as a key figure in the country's history after decolonisation: Zongo was involved in two successful coup d'états and accused of being the conspirator ...
, and Major Jean-Baptiste Boukary Lengani formed the Popular Front (FP), which pledged to continue and pursue the goals of the revolution and to "rectify" Sankara's "deviations" from the original aims. The new government, realizing the need for bourgeois support, tacitly moderated many of Sankara's policies. As part of a much-discussed political "opening" process, several political organizations, three of them non-Marxist, were accepted under an umbrella political organization created in June 1989 by the FP. Some members of the leftist Organisation pour la Démocratie Populaire/Mouvement du Travail (ODP/MT) were against the admission of non-Marxist groups in the front. On September 18, 1989, while Compaoré was returning from a two-week trip to Asia, Lengani and Zongo were accused of plotting to overthrow the Popular Front. They were arrested and summarily executed the same night. Compaoré reorganized the government, appointed several new ministers, and assumed the portfolio of Minister of Defense and Security. On December 23, 1989, a presidential security detail arrested about 30 civilians and military personnel accused of plotting a coup in collaboration with the Burkinabe external opposition. Burkina Faso adopted a new
constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...
on June 2, 1991. In 2005, CompaorĂ© elected to his third term. In November 2010, President CompaorĂ© was re–elected for a fourth straight term. He won 80.2% of the vote, while
Hama Arba Diallo Hama Arba Diallo (23 March 1939 – 30 September 2014) was a BurkinabĂ© politician, diplomat and civil servant. He was minister of foreign affairs of Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso) from 1983 to 1984. Diallo, an opponent of President Blaise Com ...
came a distant second with 8.2%. In February 2011, the death of a schoolboy provoked an uprising in the entire country, lasting through April 2011, which was coupled with a military mutiny and with a strike of the magistrates. See .


Overthrow of Compaoré

In June 2014 Compaoré's ruling party, the CDP, called on him to organise a referendum that would allow him to alter the constitution in order to seek re-election in 2015; otherwise he would be forced to step down due to term limits. On 30 October 2014 the National Assembly was scheduled to debate an amendment to the constitution which would have enabled Compaoré to stand for re-election as President in 2015. Opponents protested this by storming the parliament building in Ouagadougou, starting fires inside it and looting offices; billowing smoke was reported to be coming from the building by the BBC. Opposition spokesman Pargui Emile Paré, of the
People's Movement for Socialism / Federal Party People's, branded as ''People's Viennaline'' until May 2018, and legally ''Altenrhein Luftfahrt GmbH'', is an Austrian airline headquartered in Vienna. It operates scheduled and charter passenger flights mainly from its base at St. Gallen-Alten ...
, described the protests as "Burkina Faso’s black spring, like the Arab spring". CompaorĂ© reacted to the events by shelving the proposed constitutional changes, dissolving the government, declaring a state of emergency and offering to work with the opposition to resolve the crisis. Later in the day, the military, under General Honore Traore, announced that it would install a transitional government "in consultation with all parties" and that the National Assembly was dissolved; he foresaw "a return to the constitutional order" within a year. He did not make clear what role, if any, he envisioned for CompaorĂ© during the transitional period. CompaorĂ© said that he was prepared to leave office at the end of the transition. On October 31 CompaorĂ© announced he had left the presidency and that there was a "power vacuum"; he also called for a "free and transparent" election within 90 days.
Yacouba Isaac Zida Yacouba Isaac Zida (born 16 November 1965) is a Burkina Faso, Burkinabé Military of Burkina Faso, military officer who briefly served as Burkina Faso's acting head of state in November 2014. He took power in the aftermath of the 2014 Burkinabé u ...
then took over the reins as head of state in an interim capacity. On 17 November 2014, a civilian,
Michel Kafando Michel Kafando (born 18 August 1942) is a Burkinabé diplomat who served as the transitional President of Burkina Faso from 2014
, was chosen to replace Zida as transitional head of state, and he was sworn in on 18 November. Kafando then appointed Zida as
Prime Minister of Burkina Faso This is a list of prime ministers of Burkina Faso since the formation of the post of Prime Minister of the Republic of Upper Volta in 1971 to the present day. A total of fifteen people have served as Prime Minister of Upper Volta/Burkina Faso ...
on 19 November 2014. On 19 July 2015, amidst tensions between the military and Prime Minister Zida, Kafando stripped Zida of the defense portfolio and took over the portfolio himself. He also took over the security portfolio, previously held by Zida's ally Auguste Denise Barry. As part of the same reshuffle, he appointed Moussa Nébié to replace himself as Minister of Foreign Affairs.


September 2015 failed coup d'Ă©tat

On 16 September 2015, two days after a recommendation from the National Reconciliation and Reforms Commission to disband the
Regiment of Presidential Security The Regiment of Presidential Security (french: Régiment de la sécurité présidentielle, RSP), sometimes known as the Presidential Security Regiment, was the secret service organisation responsible for VIP security to the President of Burkina F ...
(RSP), members of the RSP detained President Kafando and Prime Minister Zida, and installed the
National Council for Democracy The National Council for Democracy (french: Conseil national pour la Démocratie), led by Chairman-General Gilbert Diendéré, was the ruling cabinet of the military junta of Burkina Faso from 17 to 23 September 2015. It took temporary control of t ...
in power with
Gilbert Diendéré Gilbert Diendéré (; born 1960) is a Burkinabé military officer and the Chairman of the National Council for Democracy, the military junta that briefly seized power in Burkina Faso in the September 2015 coup d'état. He was a long-time ai ...
as its chairman. The military chief of staff (the ''chef d'état-major des armées du Burkina Faso''), Brigadier General Pingrenoma Zagré, called on members of the RSP to lay down their arms, promising in a statement that they would not be harmed if they surrendered peacefully. Kafando was believed to remain under house arrest until 21 September, when he was reported to have arrived at the residence of the French ambassador. The regular army issued an ultimatum to the RSP to surrender by the morning of 22 September. Kafando was reinstalled as President at a ceremony on 23 September in the presence of
ECOWAS The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS; also known as in French and Portuguese) is a regional political and economic union of fifteen countries located in West Africa. Collectively, these countries comprise an area of , and in ...
leaders. On 25 September the RSP was disbanded by government decree. On 26 September the assets of Diendéré and others associated with the coup, as well as the assets of four political parties, including the CDP, were frozen by the state prosecutor. Djibril Bassolé and Eddie Komboïgo, who were barred from standing as presidential candidates, both had their assets frozen. Bassolé was arrested on 29 September for allegedly supporting the coup.


2015 general election

On 13 October 2015 it was announced that general elections would be held on 29 November 2015. The
Congress for Democracy and Progress The Congress for Democracy and Progress (french: CongrÚs pour la Démocratie et le ProgrÚs, ''CDP'') was the ruling party in Burkina Faso from 1996 until the overthrow of Blaise Compaoré in 2014. History The party was founded in February 199 ...
was banned from running a presidential candidate, but was still able to participate in the parliamentary election. The presidential election was won by
Roch Marc Christian Kaboré Roch Marc Christian Kaboré (; born 25 April 1957) is a Burkinabé banker and politician who served as the President of Burkina Faso from 2015 until he was deposed in 2022. He was the Prime Minister of Burkina Faso between 1994 and 1996 and Pr ...
of the
People's Movement for Progress The People's Movement for Progress (french: Mouvement du Peuple pour le ProgrÚs, MPP) is a political party in Burkina Faso that was founded on 25 January 2014 by former Congress for Democracy and Progress member Roch Marc Christian Kaboré. Ka ...
(MPP), who received 53% of the vote in the first round, negating the need for a second round. The parliamentary election was also won by MPP, which scored 34,71% of votes and won 55 seats in the National Assembly, followed by the Union of Progress and Reform (20,53%, 33 seats) and the Congress for Democracy and Progress (13,20%, 18 seats). Kaboré was sworn in as President on 29 December 2015. On 7 January 2016 he appointed Paul Kaba Thieba as Prime Minister.


2018 status

The 2018
CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...
''World Factbook'' provides this updated summary. "Burkina Faso is a poor, landlocked country that depends on adequate rainfall. Irregular patterns of rainfall, poor soil, and the lack of adequate communications and other infrastructure contribute to the economy’s vulnerability to external shocks. About 80% of the population is engaged in subsistence farming and cotton is the main cash crop. The country has few natural resources and a weak industrial base. Cotton and gold are Burkina Faso’s key exports ...The country has seen an upswing in gold exploration, production, and exports." "While the end of the political crisis has allowed Burkina Faso’s economy to resume positive growth, the country’s fragile security situation could put these gains at risk. Political insecurity in neighboring Mali, unreliable energy supplies, and poor transportation links pose long-term challenges." Civil unrest continued to be problematic, according to the report. "The country experienced terrorist attacks in its capital in 2016, 2017, and 2018 and continues to mobilize resources to counter terrorist threats." (In 2018, several governments were warning their citizens not to travel into the northern part of the country and into several provinces in the East Region.) The CIA report also states that "Burkina Faso's high population growth, recurring drought, pervasive and perennial food insecurity, and limited natural resources result in poor economic prospects for the majority of its citizens". The report is optimistic in some aspects, particularly the work being done with assistance by the
International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster globa ...
. "A new three-year IMF program (2018-2020), approved in 2018, will allow the government to reduce the budget deficit and preserve critical spending on social services and priority public investments."


November 2020 election

In 2020 general election, President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré was re-elected. However, his party Mouvement du people MPP, failed to reach absolute parliamentary majority. It secured 56 seats out of a total of 127. The Congress for Democracy and Progress (CDP), the party of former President Blaise Compaoré, was distant second with 20 seats.


2022 military coups

On 24 January 2022, President Roch Kaboré was ousted in a military coup. Lieutenant Colonel
Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba (; born January 1981) is a Burkina Faso, Burkinabé military officer who served as interim president of Burkina Faso from 31 January 2022 to 30 September 2022, when he was removed in a September 2022 Burkina Faso coup d ...
was the leader of Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration (MPSR), which included all sections of the army. MPSR announced that it had decided to end President Kabore's post. On 31 January, the ruling military government appointed coup leader Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba as interim president. The
African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the Africa ...
(AU) suspended the membership of Burkina Faso. On 30 September 2022 the second military coup took place and Damiba was ousted over his inability to deal with an Islamist insurgency. Captain
Ibrahim Traoré Ibrahim Traoré (born 1988) is a Burkinabé military officer who has been the interim leader of Burkina Faso since the 30 September 2022 coup d'état which ousted interim president Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba. At age 34, Traoré is the world's ...
took over as interim leader. President Damiba resigned and left the country. On 6 October 2022, Captain Ibrahim Traore was officially appointed as president of Burkina Faso.


See also

* Ouagadougou
history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
and
timeline A timeline is a display of a list of events in chronological order. It is typically a graphic design showing a long bar labelled with dates paralleling it, and usually contemporaneous events. Timelines can use any suitable scale representi ...
(capital and largest city) *
History of Africa The history of Africa begins with the emergence of hominids, archaic humans and — around 300–250,000 years ago—anatomically modern humans (''Homo sapiens''), in East Africa, and continues unbroken into the present as a patchwork of d ...
*
History of West Africa The history of West Africa has been divided into its prehistory, the Iron Age in Africa, the major polities flourishing, the colonial period, and finally the post-independence era, in which the current nations were formed. West Africa is west o ...
*
List of heads of government of Burkina Faso This is a list of prime ministers of Burkina Faso since the formation of the post of Prime Minister of the Republic of Upper Volta in 1971 to the present day. A total of fifteen people have served as Prime Minister of Upper Volta/Burkina Faso ...
*
List of heads of state of Burkina Faso This is a list of Head of state, heads of state of Burkina Faso since the Republic of Upper Volta gained independence from France in 1960 to the present day. A total of seven people have served as head of state of Upper Volta/Burkina Faso (not ...
*
Politics of Burkina Faso The Politics of Burkina Faso takes place in a framework of a semi-presidential republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Burkina Faso is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. The President of Burkina Faso is the head of state. Exe ...


References


External links

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History of Burkina Faso (English version)Reporters sans frontiĂšres: The death of Norbert Zongo
{{DEFAULTSORT:History of Burkina Faso