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TheRepublic of Upper Volta (French:République de Haute-Volta) was a landlockedWest African country established on 11 December 1958 as a self-governing state within theFrench Community.[6][7] Before becoming autonomous, it had been part of theFrench Union as theFrench Upper Volta. On 5 August 1960, it gained full independence fromFrance.[8] On 4 August 1984, it changed its name toBurkina Faso.
Republic of Upper Volta République de Haute-Volta (French) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1958–1984 | |||||||||
| Motto: "Unité – Travail – Justice"(in French) "Unity – Work – Justice" | |||||||||
| Anthem: Hymne National Voltaïque | |||||||||
 | |||||||||
| Status | Self-governing colony (1958–1960) | ||||||||
| Capital | Ouagadougou | ||||||||
| Common languages |
| ||||||||
| Religion | |||||||||
| Demonym(s) | Upper Voltan[1] | ||||||||
| Government | One-partypresidential republic (1960–1966) Corporatist state under amilitary dictatorship (1966–1980)[2] Military dictatorship (1980–1983) Marxist-Leninist[3]military dictatorship (1983–1984)[4] | ||||||||
| President | |||||||||
• 1959–1966 | Maurice Yaméogo | ||||||||
• 1966–1980 | Sangoulé Lamizana | ||||||||
• 1980–1982 | Saye Zerbo | ||||||||
• 1982–1983 | Jean-Baptiste Ouédraogo | ||||||||
• 1983–1984 | Thomas Sankara | ||||||||
| High Commissioner | |||||||||
• 1958–1959 | Max Berthet | ||||||||
• 1959–1960 | Paul Masson | ||||||||
| Prime Minister | |||||||||
• 1971–1974 | Gérard Kango Ouédraogo | ||||||||
• 1983 | Thomas Sankara | ||||||||
| Historical era | Cold War | ||||||||
| 11 December 1958 | |||||||||
| 5 August 1960 | |||||||||
| 3 January 1966 | |||||||||
| 25 November 1980 | |||||||||
| 7 November 1982 | |||||||||
| 4 August 1983 | |||||||||
• Renamed | 4 August 1984 | ||||||||
| Population | |||||||||
• 1980[5] estimate | 6,823,000 | ||||||||
| Currency | CFA franc | ||||||||
| ISO 3166 code | HV | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of | Burkina Faso | ||||||||
Etymology
edit
The name Upper Volta indicated that the country contains the upper part of theVolta River.
History
editUpper Volta obtained independence on 5 August 1960, withMaurice Yaméogo of theVoltaic Democratic Union-African Democratic Rally (UDV-RDA) becoming the country's first president. A constitution was ratified the same year, establishing presidential elections by direct universal suffrage and a National Assembly, both with five-year terms. Shortly after coming to power, Yaméogo banned all political parties other than the UDV-RDA. He had shown a deep authoritarian streak even before becoming president. Between the time he became prime minister of Upper Volta while it was still a French colony and independence two years later, opposition parties were subjected to increased harassment.
On 3 January 1966, Yaméogo was overthrown in acoup d'état led by army chiefSangoulé Lamizana. Although multiparty democracy was nominally restored four years later, Lamizana dominated the country's politics until he was himself overthrown in 1980.
After a series of short-term presidencies,Thomas Sankara then came to power through yet another militarycoup d'état on 4 August 1983.[9] After the coup, he formed the National Council for the Revolution (CNR), with himself as president. Under the direction of Sankara, the country changed its name on 4 August 1984, from Upper Volta toBurkina Faso, which means "Land of Incorruptible People".[10]
Politics
editFrom 1958 to 1960, the Republic of Upper Volta was led by a high commissioner:
- Max Berthet (11 December 1958 to February 1959),
- Paul Masson (February 1959 to 5 August 1960).
From 1971 to 1987, the Republic of Upper Volta was led by a prime minister:
- Gérard Kango Ouédraogo (13 February 1971 to 8 February 1974)
- Thomas Sankara (4 August 1983 to 14 October 1987)
Symbols
editFlag
editThe colours of the national flag corresponded to the names of theVolta's three main tributaries: theBlack Volta, theWhite Volta and theRed Volta.[11]
National Hymn
editIn French: Fière Volta de mes aieux, Nous te ferons et plus forte, et plus belle Vers l'horizon lève les yeux Le travail de ton sol brûlant Que Dieu te garde en sa bonté, | In English: Proud Volta of my ancestors, We will make you stronger and more beautiful The work of your burning ground May God keep you in his goodness, |
This anthem was replaced in 1984 by a new anthem, theDitanyè.
Cultural references
editDuring the 1960s, theSoviet Union was sometimes derisively referred to as "Upper Volta with rockets",[12] coined by a journalist Xan Smiley,[13] referencing USSR's disproportion of defence sector over relatively undeveloped civilian economy.[14]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^National Basic Intelligence Factbook. United States: Central Intelligence Agency, 1980, p. 205[1]
- ^"The Economic History of Burkina Faso".San José State University Department of Economics.
- ^"AFRICAN MARXIST MILITARY REGIMES, RISE AND FALL: INTERNAL CONDITIONERS AND INTERNATIONAL DIMENSIONS". Brazilian Journal of African Studies. 2020. Retrieved10 February 2025.
…Military Coups of a new type, which introduced revolutionary regimes self-declared Marxist-Leninist. This is the case of Somalia (1969) and Ethiopia (1974), the most emblematic case, but also of four french-speaking countries: Congo-Brazzaville (1968), Daomey/Benin (1972-74), Madagascar (1975) and Alto Volta/Burkina Faso (1983).
- ^"AFRICAN MARXIST MILITARY REGIMES, RISE AND FALL: INTERNAL CONDITIONERS AND INTERNATIONAL DIMENSIONS". Brazilian Journal of African Studies. 2020. Retrieved5 March 2025.
In contrast to Angola and Mozambique, where the Marxist component was associated with National Liberation Movements, those in Ethiopia and Somalia, as well as the four Francophone States, had Marxist Military Revolutions/Regimes after more than a decade of independence. […] In Somalia and Ethiopia, military coups in 1969 and 1974, respectively, evolved into socialist-oriented Marxist Military Regimes, which did not prevent the outbreak of a war between both states in 1977-78. In Somalia, the conflict complicated the strategy of socialist transformation, but in Ethiopia the opposite happened, with its deepening. In parallel, Congo-Brazzaville, Benin, Madagascar and Alto Volta (Burkina Faso), four former French colonies, suftered military coups that took the same path.
- ^"Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, World Population Prospects: Data Query".esa.un.org. United Nations. Retrieved4 April 2025.
- ^"Burkina Faso".Afripedia. Africa.com. Archived from the original on 11 February 2017. Retrieved9 February 2017.
- ^"Field Listing: National Holiday".The World Factbook. CIA. Archived fromthe original on 22 September 2020. Retrieved30 November 2020.
- ^Meredith, Martin (2013).The State of Africa. Simon & Schuster. p. 69.ISBN 9780857203885.
- ^"Thomas Sankara".Encyclopedia Britannica.Archived from the original on 10 October 2016. Retrieved9 February 2017.
- ^"More (Language of the Mossi Tribe) Phrase Book".World Digital Library.Archived from the original on 23 November 2018. Retrieved16 February 2013.
- ^"Upper Volta (Burkina Faso, 1959-1984)".Flags of the World.Archived from the original on 20 September 2020. Retrieved30 November 2020.
- ^Crashaw, Steve (15 November 1998)."Televison [sic]: From Burkina Faso with rockets to Upper Volta without".The Independent.London. Retrieved7 November 2014.
- ^"Research Topics".www.russialist.org. Retrieved7 November 2017.
- ^Harrison, Mark (7 November 2017)."The Soviet economy, 1917-1991: Its life and afterlife".VoxEU.org. Retrieved7 November 2017.