Youssouf Ouédraogo (25 December 1952 – 18 November 2017) was a Burkinabé politician. In 1992 he became the first prime minister of Burkina Faso since 1983, serving from 16 June 1992 to 22 March 1994. Ouédraogo, a member of the ruling Congress for Democracy and Progress (CDP), later served as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs from January 1999 to June 2007.

Biography

Ouédraogo was born in Tikaré, in

Bam Province Bam is one of the 45 provinces of Burkina Faso. It is located in Centre-Nord Region and the capital of Bam is Kongoussi. In 2019 it has a population of 473,955. It is a rural province with 420,314 of its residents living in the countryside; only ...

. Under

Thomas Sankara Thomas Isidore Noël Sankara (; 21 December 1949 – 15 October 1987) was a Burkinabè military officer, Marxist and Pan-Africanist revolutionary who served as the President of Burkina Faso from 1983, following his takeover in a coup, until ...

, Ouédraogo was appointed to the government as Minister of Planning and Popular Development on 31 August 1984, remaining in that position for three years. Shortly after Sankara was assassinated in October 1987, Ouédraogo became Minister for the Plan and Cooperation under Blaise Compaoré. He left that position on 25 April 1989 and became President of the Economic and Social Council,Jean-Pierre Bejot
"Youssouf Ouédraogo, patron de la diplomatie burkinabè"
, lefaso.net, 3 November 2003 . in which position he served until he was elected to the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

as a deputy from Bam in the May 1992 parliamentary election. He was appointed as prime minister by Compaoré on 16 June 1992. The

CFA franc CFA franc (, ) is the name of two currencies used by 210 million people (as of 2023) in fourteen African countries: the West African CFA franc (where "CFA" stands for , i.e. "African Financial Community" in English), used in eight West African c ...

was devaluated in January 1994, and this was followed by controversy."Mar 1994 – New Government", ''Keesing's Record of World Events'', volume 40, March 1994, Burkina, page 39,898. Ouédraogo signed an agreement with trade unions to raise salaries on 12 March 1994, but the agreement fell through and Ouédraogo resigned a few days later. He then served as Ambassador to

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, the United Kingdom, Luxembourg and the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

before being appointed as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs in January 1999. Ouédraogo was elected to the National Assembly again in the 2007 parliamentary election as a candidate of the CDP from Bam Province. In the government of Prime Minister Tertius Zongo, which was appointed on 10 June 2007, he was replaced as Foreign Minister by Djibrill Bassolé. He subsequently became special adviser to the president of the

African Development Bank The African Development Bank Group (AfDB, also known as BAD in French) is a multilateral development finance institution, headquartered in Abidjan, Ivory Coast since September 2014. The AfDB is a financial provider to African governments and ...

Political career

He obtained a degree in marketing at the Universities of Dijon,

Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, , ; or simply ; ) is a city and Communes of France, commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions of France, region, with a population of 147,284 (2020). Its metropolitan area () had 504,157 inhabitants at the 2018 ...

and Lyon III (France). He taught at the University of Ouagadougou from 1982.« Youssouf Ouedraogo »
on forum-ameriques.org Under

(President of Burkina Faso from 1983 to 1987), Ouédraogo was appointed to the government as Minister of Planning and Popular Development on 31 August 1984, remaining in that position for three years. Shortly after Sankara was assassinated in October 1987, Ouédraogo became Minister for the Plan and Cooperation under Blaise Compaoré. He left that position on 25 April 1989 and became president of the Economic and Social Council, in which position he served until he was elected to the

as a deputy from Bam in the May 1992 parliamentary election. He was appointed as

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

by Compaoré on 16 June 1992. He promoted reforms favorable to the private sector. He entered into negotiations with the IMF and the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

to reach agreements on structural adjustment. The CFA franc was devaluated in January 1994, and this was followed by controversy. Ouédraogo signed an agreement with trade unions to raise salaries on 12 March 1994, but the agreement fell through and Ouédraogo resigned a few days later.

Diplomacy

He also had a diplomatic career, serving as an

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

and the

before being appointed as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs in January 1999. Chairman of the African Group of Ambassadors Committee – Caribbean – Pacific (ACP), he is one of the main negotiators in front of the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

at the renewal of the

Fourth Geneva Convention The Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (), more commonly referred to as the Fourth Geneva Convention and abbreviated as GCIV, is one of the four treaties of the Geneva Conventions. It was adopted in August 1 ...

governing the ACP-EU Partnership for the period 1995–1999. Recalled to

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...

in January 1999, he was appointed as Minister of Foreign Affairs, a post he held until 2007. He represented Africa at the launch in March 1999 of the US – Africa Partnership for 21st century, with President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

. At this time the

held the presidency of the

Organization of African Unity The Organisation of African Unity (OAU; , OUA) was an African intergovernmental organization established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with 33 signatory governments. Some of the key aims of the OAU were to encourage political and ec ...

(OAU). He strongly supported the preferential agreement proposed by the United States to promote trade relations with Africa (AGOA) and the creation of the Millennium Challenge Corporation. He also organized Burkina second ministerial meeting implementation of the Africa – European Union (2002), and the tenth Francophonie Summit (2004). Ouédraogo was elected to the

again in the 2007 parliamentary election as a candidate of the CDP from Bam Province. In the government of Prime Minister Tertius Zongo, which was appointed on 10 June 2007, he was replaced as Foreign Minister by Djibrill Bassolé.

International organisations

In September 2007, he became Special Adviser to the President of the African Development Bank. He was in charge of political and diplomatic issues. He was appointed to that position to deepen and/or expand the partnership between the Bank and its Member States, Regional Economic Communities and international institutions. He also defended a stronger partnership between the Maghreb and Sub-Saharan Africa. In 2016, he was elected associated member of the Royal Academies for Science and Arts of Belgium. His induction took place on 28 May during an official ceremony at the Academy Palace of Belgium where he held a speech on behalf of all new members.

Death

Ouédraogo died on 18 November 2017 at the age of 64.Décès de l'ex-Premier ministre Youssouf Ouédraogo du Burkina

Decorations

*Silver Medal (today, Command-officer) of Burkina Faso Revolution's Torch (4 August 1985) *Title of Grand Officer of the National Order of Burkina Faso (11 December 1994) *Commander-in-chief in the Order of Mono of Togo (1 March 2008) *Title of Grand Officer of the Order of the Crown of Belgium (22 July 2005)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ouedraogo, Youssouf 1952 births 2017 deaths Members of the National Assembly of Burkina Faso Ambassadors of Burkina Faso to the United Kingdom Ambassadors of the Burkina Faso to the European Union Ambassadors of Burkina Faso to Luxembourg Ambassadors of Burkina Faso to the Netherlands Ambassadors of Burkina Faso to Belgium Prime ministers of Burkina Faso Ministers of foreign affairs of Burkina Faso Congress for Democracy and Progress politicians People from Centre-Nord Region Burkinabe Muslims 21st-century Burkinabe people