Burkina Faso: Independence to the Present

On Aug. 5, 1960, Upper Volta achieved full independence. The constitution of 1960 established a strong presidential government, and Maurice Yaméogo of the Voltaic Democratic Union (UDV) became the first president. He reduced the traditional power of the Mossi states, but his authority was weakened by ethnic conflicts and the poor performance of the economy. In late 1965, Yaméogo was overwhelmingly reelected president, but in Jan., 1966, at the height of demonstrations against the government's austerity program, he was ousted in a bloodless coup by a group of army officers headed by Lt. Col. Sangoulé Lamizana, who became head of state. Lamizana dissolved the national assembly and temporarily prohibited political activity.

In 1970 a new constitution was approved in a national referendum; Lamizana was to remain in power until 1975, when he would be replaced by an elected president. The UDV did well in the 1970 legislative elections and Lamizana appointed Gérard Kango Ouedraogo to be prime minister. However, in 1974, the army, headed by Lamizana, again intervened in the political process, dissolving the national assembly, ousting Ouedraogo, and suspending the 1970 constitution.

During the 1960s and early 1970s, Upper Volta received a great deal of financial aid from France. The country (especially the north) was severely affected by the long-term drought that began in the late 1960s and continued into the 1970s. Upper Volta was involved in a border dispute with Mali in 1974 over land containing mineral reserves. The dispute resulted in a national strike and demands for higher wages and a return to civilian rule.

A new constitution was promulgated in 1977, and multiparty presidential and legislative elections were held in 1978; Lamizana was returned to office, but in 1980 he was overthrown in a military coup by Col. Saye Zerbo. Labor unrest characterized Zerbo's brief tenure and Maj. Jean-Baptiste Ouédraogo launched a successful coup in 1982. Ouédraogo's regime proved to be short-lived as well; he was ousted by Capt. Thomas Sankara in 1983 in a bloody coup.

Sankara cultivated ties with Libya and Ghana, adopting a policy of nonalignment with Western nations. He adopted a more liberal policy toward the opposition and increased the government's focus on economic development. In symbolic rejection of the nation's colonial past, Upper Volta became Burkina Faso in 1984; the name is a composite of local languages and is roughly translated as “the land of incorruptible men.” The country's dispute with Mali over the Agache border was revived in 1985. In 1986, Sankara dissolved his cabinet and appointed civil servants to government ministries. Subsequently, he proposed the formation of a single political party.

Sankara and other officials were assassinated in 1987, and Capt. Blaise Compaoré seized control. Compaoré, unlike his predecessor, began to attract foreign investment and expanded the private sector. In 1991 a new constitution was approved, and in the subsequent presidential election Campaoré (the only candidate) was elected. In 1992 the country held its first multiparty parliamentary elections since 1978; Compaoré's party won over two thirds of the seats amid widespread charges of fraud. The party made even bigger gains in the 1997 elections, and Campaoré, facing weak opponents, was reelected in 1998. In May, 2002, the ruling Congress for Democracy and Progress (CDP) retained control of the national assembly, winning 57 seats. The president was again reelected in 2005, enormously outspending an opposition splintered among 12 candidates.

In Dec., 2006, several days of armed clashes between soldiers and police disrupted life in Ouagadougou; the violence began when police stopped a group of soldiers in civilian clothes and a fight broke out. Burkina's southern neighbor, meanwhile, has accused it of aiding N. Ivorian rebels. The governing party increased its majority in the national assembly after the May, 2007, elections. Compaoré was reelected president in Nov., 2010; again facing weak opponents, he won by a landslide. In the first half of 2011, however, unrest in the country increased, and there were a series of protests, strikes, riots, and even army and police mutinies in the capital and other cities. The Dec., 2012, legislative elections were again a victory for Compaoré's party and its allies.

In Oct., 2014, a proposed constitutional amendment ending presidential term limits led to violent protests against Compaoré that forced his and his government's resignation. The military appointed Lt. Col. Isaac Zida as interim ruler, but international pressure was applied by the African Union and others to appoint a civilian transitional government. Former foreign minister Michel Kafando subsequently was named interim president, but Zida became prime minister and several key cabinet posts went to the military. In Sept., 2015, there was a coup attempt by the presidential guard, which remained loyal to the former president, but the army did not join the coup and the surrender of the guard was negotiated and the force disbanded.

Roch Marc Christian Kaboré was elected president in the first round of the voting in Nov., 2015. Kaboré, who had served as prime minister under Compaoré in the mid-1990s, had broken with the former president in 2014 over plans to end term limits and formed an opposition party. In Oct., 2016, the government said it had foiled a coup attempt involving former members of the presidential guard.

In recent years relations have been strained at times with Côte d'Ivoire, which has been accused by the government of mistreating Burkinabe there. Burkina Faso also has seen growing activity since 2016 by Islamist militants, many of whom have inflitrated the country from Mali in the north. Attacks have occurred in the country's north and in the capital, and since 2018 they have been active in the east, where they control territory in conjunction with local militants; government forces have been accused of brutality toward the Fulani. The attacks became increasingly serious and disruptive in 2019 and 2020, displacing some 1 million people. In Nov., 2020, Kaboré, who was criticized for an inadequate response to militant attacks, won reelection against a divided opposition. A fifth of the polling places did not open, however, due to the threat of militant violence. In Oct. 2021, 37 years after the assassination of Sankara, Compaoré--who is in exile living in the Ivory Coast--and several others were put on trial for Sankara's murder.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• Independence to the Present
• The Colonial Period
• Early History
• Government
• Economy
• Land and People

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