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Born and raised inZiniaré, Compaoré joined theBurkina Faso Armed Forces (then known as Upper Voltan Armed Forces) at the age of 20 in 1971 where he rose through the ranks. Compaoré was a close associate of his predecessor and the country's first President,Thomas Sankara, who appointed Compaoré as Minister of Justice in 1985. The pair were seen as close allies until Compaoré led acoup d'état during which Sankara was killed two years later in 1987. Aged 36 when assuming office, Compaoré was the third youngest Burkinabé president, afterIbrahim Traoré and Sankara.
After taking office, he introduced a policy of 'rectification', overturning theleftist policies pursued by Sankara. In 1989, he founded theOrganization for Popular Democracy – Labour Movement (ODP–MT), which merged with twelve other political parties to create theCongress for Democracy and Progress (CDP) in 1996. Compaoré won elections that were not considered free and fair in1991,1998,2005, and2010.[5][6] Compaoré's attempt to amend the constitution to extend his 27-year term led to the2014 Burkinabé uprising, leaving him to resign and flee to theIvory Coast.[7][8] In April 2022, he was sentencedin absentia to life imprisonment after being found guilty of complicity in Sankara’s murder.[9]
Compaoré's legacy is complex, with some crediting him with stability and development, while others criticize his records on human rights, corruption and wealth inequality.
Compaoré was born inZiniaré,Upper Volta on 3 February 1951.[3][10] His father was a veteran of theSecond World War. He studied at a Catholic school inFada N'gourma, followed by aLycée inOuagadougou. His mother died suddenly when he was 15, followed by the death of his father several years later. Compaoré subsequently became very close to the family ofThomas Sankara, whose father Joseph treated him as his own son.[11]
After being expelled from the Lycée, Compaoré underwent basic military training. During his service he decided to pursue a military career, continuing his studies at theYaoundé Military Academy in Cameroon. There he became acquainted withHenri Zongo and labor union leader Soumane Touré. Following the end of the 1974 Agacher Strip border clashes between Upper Volta andMali, Compaoré was posted north ofOuahigouya. There he met Thomas Sankara, with whom he developed a close friendship.
Under Sankara's leadership, which lasted from 1983 to 1987, Compaoré was his deputy[12] and a member of the National Revolutionary Council.[3] He served as Minister of State at the Presidency[3][4][12] and subsequently as Minister of State for Justice.[4]
Compaoré was involved in the1983 and1987 coups, taking power after the second in which his predecessor Sankara was killed. He was elected as thepresident of Burkina Faso in1991, in an election that was boycotted by the opposition, and re-elected in1998,2005 and2010.[13]
On 4 August 1983, Compaoré organized a coup d'état, which deposed Major Jean-Baptiste Ouedraogo.[14] The coup d'état was supported byLibya, which was, at the time, on the verge of war with France in Chad.[15] Other key participants were CaptainHenri Zongo, MajorJean-Baptiste Boukary Lingani and the charismatic Captain Thomas Sankara, who was pronounced President.
During theAgacher Strip War with Mali in December 1985, Compaoré commanded Burkinabé soldiers who split into small groups and employedguerrilla tactics against Malian tanks.[16]
Compaoré took power on 15 October 1987 in a coup during which Sankara was killed.[17] Deteriorating relations with France and the neighboring Ivory Coast was the reason given for the coup. Compaoré described the killing of Sankara as an 'accident', but the circumstances have never been properly investigated.[18] Upon taking the presidency, he reverted many of the policies of Sankara, claiming that his policy was a 'rectification' of the Burkinabé revolution.
In October 1987, Compaoré and many others formed a new political party called thePopular Front, centered aroundcommunist, as well asMarxist–Leninist ideals.[20] He pledged to continue pursuing the goals of the revolution, but rectify policies which he saw as deviations of its ultimate goal carried out byThomas Sankara.[21]
In September 1989, while Compaoré was returning from a two-week trip toAsia, there were rumors of people plotting tooverthrow Compaoré’s government. The plotters would be arrested that same day. This event would lead Compaoré to reorganize the young nation's government. In 1990, Compaoré introduced limited democratic reforms.[22] In June 1991, Compaoré announced thatBurkina Faso was going to adopt a newconstitution.
In the 1990s, Compaoré supportedrebels inSierra Leone during the country'scivil war. The war would kill over 45,000 people and last for 11 years. Compaoré was elected as the president of Burkina Faso in 1991, in an election boycotted by the main opposition parties in protest at the questionable means Compaoré had used to take office in the first place. Only 25 percent of the electorate voted. In 1998, Compaoré was re-elected as president.
Between 1998 and 1999, an insurgency took place over reasons with economic violations in Burkina Faso. Many protests, riots, strikes, rallies and marches took place throughout the country and shocked many people. Many protesters even destroyedgovernment properties or houses. Those events at the time were one of the greatest challenges that Compaoré and his administration faced.[23]
Compaoré agreed to meet withUnited Nations supervised bodies to export weapons after allegations that he and his government has been involved in smuggling arms to rebels inSierra Leone andAngola. Just a week before that, Blaise Compaoré met withGerman,France, and with aEuropean Union representative. They discussed their concerns that the country had violated the arms embargo against Sierra Leone andUnita rebels and were being accused of it.[24]
In 2003, numerous alleged plotters were arrested, following accusations of acoup plot against Compaoré. A trial would take place in April 2004 in which they were found guilty. Many sympathizers gathered around the court cheering the plotters for their actions.[25]
In August 2005, he announced his intention to contest the next presidential election. Opposition politicians regarded this as unconstitutional due to a constitutional amendment in 2000 limiting a president to two terms and reducing term lengths from seven to five years. Compaoré's supporters disputed this, saying that the amendment could not be applied retroactively,[26] and in October 2005, the constitutional council ruled that because Compaoré was a sitting president in 2000, the amendment would not apply until the end of his second term in office, thereby allowing him to present his candidacy for the 2005 election.
George W. Bush shakes hands with Compaoré, during a meeting in July 2008
On 13 November 2005, Compaoré was re-elected as president, defeating 12 opponents and winning 80.35 percent of the vote. Although sixteen opposition parties announced a coalition to unseat Compaoré early on in the race, ultimately nobody wanted to give up their spot in the race to another leader in the coalition, and the pact fell through.
Following Compaoré's victory, he was sworn in for another term on 20 December 2005.[27]
In 2008 many protests took place because of high living costs and call for wage increases.[28] Compaoré responded by suspending import taxes on products like food for half a year and by increasing commodity for water and electricity.[29]
Spanish Hostages Ransom
TwoSpanish aid workers were abducted in November 2009. A hunt was undertaken to find the kidnappers. Just one week before the hostages were freed,Ould Sid Ahmed Ould Hama the kidnapper fled toMali before he was found and imprisoned for 12 years. It turned out the ransom was paid by Blaise Compaoré, and the hostages were taken to the presidential palace and were given phones. The hostages thanked him for paying the ransom.[30]
President Compaoré announced an establishment of a new Senate with 89 members and with 29 of thesenators who would be selected by the president themselves while the rest chosen by local politicians.[31]
On 14 April 2011, Compaoré was reported to have fled from the capital Ouagadougou to his hometown of Ziniare after mutineering military bodyguards began a revolt in their barracks reportedly over unpaid allowances.[32] Their actions eventually spread to the presidential compound and other army bases.[32] In the night, gunfire was reported at the presidential compound and an ambulance was seen leaving the compound. Soldiers also looted shops in the city through the night.[33]
Protesters marching through the capitalOuagadougou, 2014
In June 2014 Compaoré's ruling party, theCongress for Democracy and Progress (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.[34]
On 30 October 2014, the National Assembly was scheduled to debate an amendment to the constitution that would have enabled Compaoré to stand for re-election as president in 2015. Opponents protested against this by storming the parliament building in Ouagadougou, starting fires inside it and looting offices. Billowing smoke was reported by the BBC to be coming from the building.[35] Opposition spokesmanPargui Emile Paré of the People's Movement for Socialism / Federal Party described the protests as 'Burkina Faso's black spring (sic), like the Arab spring (sic)'.[36]
Compaoré 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 Compaoré during the transitional period.[37][38][39] Compaoré said that he was prepared to leave office at the end of the transition.[40]
On 31 October, Compaoré 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. Presidential guard officerYacouba Isaac Zida then took over as head of state in an interim capacity. It was reported that a heavily armed convoy believed to be carrying Compaoré was traveling towards the southern town ofPô.[41] However, it diverted before reaching the town and he then fled to Ivory Coast with the support of PresidentAlassane Ouattara.[42][43][44][45]
A week later,Jeune Afrique published an interview with Compaoré in which he alleged that 'part of the opposition was working with the army' to plot his overthrow and that 'history will tell us if they were right'. He added that he would 'not wish for his worst enemy' to be in Zida's place.[46]
The first head of state that has been in office for more than a short time after Blaise Campaoré isRoch Marc Christian Kaboré as of 29 December 2015.
Compaoré introducedCharles Taylor to his friendMuammar Gaddafi. Compaoré also helped Taylor in the early 1990s by sending him troops and resources.[47][48]
Compaoré has been active as a mediator in regional issues.[50] On 26 July 2006, he was designated as the mediator of the Inter-Togolese Dialogue, which was held in Ouagadougou in August 2006[51] and resulted in an agreement between the government and opposition parties.[52]
He acted as a mediator in the crisis in Ivory Coast, brokering the peace agreement signed by the Ivorian president,Laurent Gbagbo, and the New Forces leader,Guillaume Soro, in Ouagadougou on 4 March 2007.[53] In March 2012, he acted as a mediator in talks between representatives of theMalian coup d'état and other regional leaders.[54] He hosted talks with them to discuss peace to the conflict.[55]
The BBC noted in 2014 that he was 'the strongest ally toFrance and theUnited States in the region' and that 'despite his own history of backing rebels and fuelling civil wars in the West African neighbourhood ... more importantly, he used his networks to help Western powers battling Islamist militancy in the Sahel'.[50]
During 2016, the capital was in the grip of a terrorist attack. Jihadists who had suites and tables in town, following agreements with Campaoré of non-aggression. As a result, the military group of the presidential guard received enormous credits while the army was impoverished to avoid any military coup.[56]
He served on the International Multilateral Partnership Against Cyber Threats (IMPACT) International Advisory Board.
In an interview with the magazineFamille Chrétienne, Compaoré asserted that the notion ofsexual abstinence was not a monopoly of the RomanCatholic Church and that European non-governmental organizations that disagreed with traditional morality were profiting from the situation to intervene in regional African affairs.[57]
In April 2021, a military court in Burkina Faso indicted Compaoréin absentia, charging him with the 1987 murder of his immediate predecessor, Thomas Sankara.[58] Another trial against him, on counts of attacking state security, concealing a corpse, and complicity in a murder, began on 11 October 2021.[59] In April 2022, he was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.[60]
^The date of the 194th anniversary of the Abolition of Feudal Privileges in France may have been chosen for symbolic purposes, but there is no evidence of this.
^Chad was at war with Libya. France was providing air support to Chad. According to witnesses, some French troops were involved in ground operations.
^Châtelot, Christophe (30 November 2010)."Burkina Faso's president is in a league of his own".The Guardian Weekly. Retrieved21 January 2015.The day you find out Blaise is preparing a putsch against me, don't bother trying to counter him or even warning me. It will already be too late...
^Veney, Cassandra R.; Payne, Richard J. (2001). "Taiwan and Africa: Taipei's Continuing Search for International Recognition".Journal of Asian and African Studies.36 (4): 447.doi:10.1163/15685210152691972 (inactive 1 July 2025).Given its economic power, Taiwan has generously rewarded its political allies in Africa. For example, in July 1994, President Blaise Compaore of Burkina Faso, accompanied by his wife and an entourage of more than twenty officials, visited Taiwan shortly after reestablishing diplomatic relations with Taipei. Compaore was presented with the key to Taipei and President Lee Teng-hui conferred the Order of Brilliant Jade on him in recognition of his contribution to strengthening ties between the two countries.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2025 (link)
Guion, Jean R. (1991).Blaise Compaoré: Realism and Integrity: Portrait of the Man Behind Rectification in Burkina Faso. Paris: Berger-Levrault International.ISBN2701310008.
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