Patriotic League for Development (, LIPAD) was an open mass front of the
African Independence Party (PAI) in
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 ...
. LIPAD was founded in September 1973. LIPAD was led by
Arba Diallo. The militants of LIPAD were generally called ''lipadistes''.
LIPAD had its main influence in the
trade union
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 benefits ...
movement. The general secretary of the
Voltaic Trade Union Confederation (CSV),
Soumane Touré, was also the head of the LIPAD section in
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 ...
.
LIPAD opted for 'Popular Revolution of National Liberation' (RPLN). Initially LIPAD offered vital support to the revolution of
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 a ...
. In May 1983 pro-LIPAD students conducted massive demonstrations demanding his release. But when Sankara opted for the 'Popular and Democratic Revolution' promoted by
ULC LIPAD withdrew its support. The
USSR
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
played an important role in provoking the split away from the Sankara government.
From August 3, 1983, to August 1984 LIPAD held five ministerial posts. Arba Diallo was Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Philippe Ouédraogo Minister of Equipment and Telecommunications and Adama Touré Minister of Information. After the break in 1984 (generally called ''la clarification'') Diallo and Touré were jailed. Diallo was released in 1985 and Touré in 1986. But even after ''la clarification'' lipadistes continued to hold some important positions. Michael Tapsoba was appointed Minister for Water in the new government. Ouédraogo was appointed chief engineer of mining.
Communist parties in Burkina Faso
Defunct political parties in Burkina Faso
Political parties established in 1973
Popular fronts of communist states
{{CP-stub