1983 Upper Voltan coup d'état

In 1980 Colonel Saye Zerbo took control of the Republic of Upper Volta in a coup. He installed a mixed military-civilian regime which over time marginalised both the older, conservative senior officers and younger, radical left-wing junior officers in the army.[1] On 7 November 1982 the conservative and left-wing factions united under conservative Colonel Gabriel Somé Yorian launched a coup which ousted Zerbo.[2] The soldiers then formed the Conseil de Salut du Peuple[lower-alpha 1] (CSP), a 120-strong governing body consisting of officers, noncommissioned officers, and privates.[2] Two days later the council elected Major Jean-Baptiste Ouédraogo as president.[3] He was a compromise choice between the left-wing radicals and conservatives on the CSP.[4] According to Ouédraogo, radical Captain Thomas Sankara was supposed to take power but withdrew at the last minute, leading other officers to choose him to assume the presidency due to his senior rank though, in his words, "against my will".[5] Unlike Sankara, he lacked political experience and popular support, and was quickly regarded by the left-wing members of the CSP as conservative and sympathetic to policies of France.[5] Nevertheless, the media viewed Ouédraogo and Sankara as united in goals and dubbed them "Siamese twins".[6]

On 21 November Ouédraogo declared that the CSP would restore a constitutional, civilian regime in two years time.[7] Five days later the CSP installed a formal government. Ouédraogo was the only soldier in the cabinet and, in addition to his role as president, was made Minister of National Defence and Veterans Affairs.[8] On the whole the CSP exercised true control of the government while Ouédraogo served as little more than a figurehead. The freedoms of labour unions and the press, having been restricted under Zerbo's reign, were restored by the new administration.[9] The CSP elected Sankara as Prime Minister in January 1983,[10] in effect instituting a power counterbalance to Ouédraogo.[9]

Meanwhile, as Sankara toured various communist and socialist countries, rumors circulated among the Voltaic population that the CSP would assume a radical left-wing approach to governing and expropriate small businesses. In an attempt to alleviate concerns, Ouédraogo told members of the National Council of Voltaic Employers that "private initiative will be maintained...you are the primary motor of the country's economic activity".[11] Sankara concluded his tour with a visit to Libya. A Libyan transport aircraft landed at Ouagadougou Airport shortly after his return, generating rumours of a plot to install a pro-Libya regime in Upper Volta. Ouédraogo assured the populace that it was "a routine visit, a kind of courtesy call and I think that we must not try to see anything beyond that," and stated that "there should be no talk of setting up a Voltaic Jamahiriya".[11] On 26 March Ouédraogo and Sankara held a meeting in the capital, where differences in their beliefs began to emerge.[10] That day the CSP organised a large rally in the city where a moderate speech by Ouédraogo was much less enthusiastically received than Sankara's radical remarks.[12]

As his tenure progressed, Ouédraogo found himself unable to reconcile the conservative and radical factions of the CSP, whose disagreements were leading to a political stalemate.[13] On 14 May 1983 the CSP convened in the town of Bobo-Dioulasso. A crowd gathered to hear a message from the council. Sankara spoke until dusk, and the crowd mostly dispersed, its members eager to break their Ramadan fasts. Ouédraogo was in turn left without an audience for his speech, as Sankara seemingly intended in an effort to humiliate him.[14] The following day he met with Guy Penne, a top African affairs adviser of President of France François Mitterrand.[15] On 16 May he purged his government of pro-Libyan and anti-French elements, disbanded the CSP, and had Sankara and several other important officials arrested.[3][lower-alpha 2] Explaining the reasons for the radicals' removal, he said, "It is a problem of ideology...We were following step by step the program of the [Ligue patriotique pour le développement], and that program was to lead us to a communist society."[9][lower-alpha 3] He met again with Penne, who promised his government significant financial aid from France.[15] One officer, Blaise Compaoré, evaded capture and escaped to Sankara's former garrison at Pô where he began to organise resistance.[3] In the following days large demonstrations occurred in Ouagadougou in support of Sankara.[15] Ouédraogo's political position was weak; his left-wing opponents were well organised while he did not have reliable connections with the conservative factions he supposedly represented and could only really count on the support of a handful of his former classmates from the Pabré minor seminary. Realising that the use of force was of little recourse, he sought to resolve the situation by appeasing his adversaries.[19]

On 27 May Ouédraogo delivered a speech, promising a quick return to civilian rule and the liberation of political prisoners. He also announced the drafting of a new constitution within six months, to be followed by an election in which he would not participate.[10][20] He also felt that the increased politicisation of the army was dangerous and compounded the threat of a civil war, so he warned that any soldiers found to be involving themselves in politics would be reprimanded. Stating that the older generation of politicians had been discredited and should retire, he announced that "patriots" and "new men with a sense of responsibility and national realities" should assume leadership of the country.[21] Ouédraogo finished by expressing his hope that the Upper Voltan youth could avoid the trappings of partisan politics.[21] Several days later he released Sankara, who was confined under guard to house arrest.[22] While the situation deteriorated, Ouédraogo accelerated the execution of his goals, liberating many political prisoners held under Zerbo's regime. However, his extension of political rehabilitation to Yaméogo antagonised many politicians whom Yaméogo had repressed.[9] Sankara was soon rearrested but then released following mounting pressure from Compaoré's troops.[22] On 4 June Ouédraogo removed a number of pro-Sankara ministers from his government.[23]

Sankara pledged to afford Ouédraogo "much humanitarianism".[28] On the evening of 5 August the former president was imprisoned at the military camp in Pô.[27] He was discharged from the army on 25 August.[32] Ouédraogo was granted clemency on 4 August 1985[33] and returned to medical work, taking a job at the Hôpital Yalgado-Ouédraogo.[5] Nevertheless, the Sankara regime monitored his activities and restricted him from reentry into the army. Ouédraogo declared that he would not take an active role in politics[34] and from then on he generally showed little interest in involving himself in public affairs.[35] In 2020 he released a memoir titled Ma part de vérité, in which he offered criticism of Sankara. In response to backlash from the book, he said of Sankara, "there were only political grievances between us, no animosity".[36]

The Libyan official news agency, Jamahiriya News Agency, praised the coup.[37] On 6 August Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi extended his formal congratulations to Sankara and dispatched a plane with aid to Upper Volta.[38] The coup came at a time when Libyan involvement in conflict in Chad was increasing, generating worries among the governments of Niger and the Ivory Coast that the overthrow was a move planned by Gaddafi.[39] In an interview with a French radio station, Sankara stated, "I regret that we are considered pawns of Gaddafi. Colonel Gaddafi is a chief of state who has been able to solve the problems of his country. But Libya is not Upper Volta and Captain Sankara is not Colonel Gaddafi. There is surely a lot to learn in Libya, but we can't copy their experiences and that's why we can't speak of pawns."[37] In a measure to assuage concerns, Sankara sent a message to Ivory Coast President Félix Houphouët-Boigny, expressing a wish to "consolidate the traditional friendship and cooperation" between their countries.[39] He also asked the Libyan government to withhold further flights.[40] The new regime cultivated friendly relations with Libya, Ghana, the Soviet Union, and Albania, while France and the United States progressively ignored it.[41]

The day following the coup, the CNR issued a decree, reorganising the country into 30 provinces.[38] On 9 August Sankara dismissed Ouédraogo's cabinet, asking top civil servants to take charge of their ministries until new ministers could be appointed.[31] Compaoré later became Minister of State at the Presidency and the de facto second-most powerful political leader in the country.[42] The military general staff was dissolved and replaced with a new high command under Major Jean-Baptiste Boukary Lingani.[43] That night, conservative soldiers attempted a counter coup, launching a tripartite attack in Ouagadougou against Sankara's residence, a radio station, and the place where Somé Yorian and a paratrooper commander, Fidele Guebre, were being held. Two of Sankara's guards were wounded, while Somé Yorian and Guebre were shot while trying to escape.[43] A nighttime curfew remained in effect for several months after the coup, and foreigners who visited the country were searched and questioned on their intentions.[41]

Sankara declared that the goals of his "revolution" would be to counter imperialism, stem corruption, heighten the status of women, conserve the environment, and improve access to education and health care. On the first anniversary of the coup, he changed Upper Volta's name to "Burkina Faso", roughly translating from the Mooré and Dyula languages as the "land of upright people".[44] During his tenure he pushed programs which improved literacy and school attendance rates, increased women's positions in government, ameliorated infant mortality, and promoted reforestation. Over the course of his tenure, economic difficulties engendered popular opposition and disagreement within his government, as did conservatives' objections to his progressive platform. On 15 October 1987, Compaoré launched a successful coup in which Sankara was killed.[44] Compaoré led Burkina Faso until 2014, when widespread unrest led him to resign and flee the country.[44][45][46]