| Blaise Compaoré | |
|---|---|
| President of Burkina Faso | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 15 October 1987 |
|
| Prime Minister | Youssouf Ouédraogo Roch Marc Christian Kaboré Kadré Désiré Ouedraogo Paramanga Ernest Yonli Tertius Zongo Luc-Adolphe Tiao |
| Preceded by | Thomas Sankara |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 3 February 1951 Ziniaré, Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso)[1] |
| Political party | Congress for Democracy and Progress |
| Spouse(s) | Chantal de Fougères |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Blaise Compaoré (born February 3, 1951)[2][3] is a Burkinabé politician who has been the President of Burkina Faso since 1987. He was a top associate of President Thomas Sankara during the 1980s, and in October 1987 he led a coup d'état that ousted Sankara; subsequently he introduced a policy of "rectification", overturning the left-wing policies pursued by Sankara. He won elections in 1991, 1998, 2005, and 2010.
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Compaoré was born in Ziniaré, 34 km from Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso (then named Upper Volta). He reached the rank of Captain in the Voltaïc army. Compaoré met Thomas Sankara in 1976 in a military training center in Morocco, and subsequently Compaoré and Sankara were considered close friends. Compaoré played a major role in the coups d'état against Saye Zerbo and Jean-Baptiste Ouedraogo. He has been married to Chantal Compaoré (née Chantal Terrasson) since 1985.
Under Sankara's leadership, which lasted from 1983 to 1987, Compaoré was his deputy[4] and was a member of the National Revolutionary Council.[2] He served as Minister of State at the Presidency[2][3][4] and subsequently as Minister of State for Justice.[3]
He is the founder of the ruling political party, the Congress for Democracy and Progress. He took power in a 1987 coup in which he killed his predecessor Thomas Sankara. He was elected President in 1991, in an election that was boycotted by the opposition, and re-elected in 1998, 2005 and 2010.[5]
A coup d'état organised by Blaise Compaoré deposed Major Jean-Baptiste Ouedraogo on 4 August 1983,[6] at the age of 33. The coup d'état was supported by Libya which was, at the time, on the verge of war with France in Chad[7] (see History of Chad). Other key participants in the coup were Captain Henri Zongo, Major Jean-Baptiste Boukary Lingani and the charismatic Captain Thomas Sankara—who was pronounced President.
He took power on 15 October 1987 in a coup that murdered President Thomas Sankara, his predecessor as head of state.[8] Compaoré described the killing of Sankara as an "accident", but the circumstances have never been properly investigated.[9] Upon taking the presidency, he reverted many of the policies of Sankara, claiming that his policy was a "rectification" of the Burkinabé revolution.
Initially ruling in a triumvirate with Henri Zongo and Jean-Baptiste Boukary Lingani, in September 1989 these two were arrested, charged with plotting to overthrow the government, summarily tried, and executed.[10]
Compaoré was elected president in 1991 in an election boycotted by the main opposition parties boycotted in protest at the questionable means Compaoré had used to take office in the first place, Only 25% of the electorate voted. In 1998 he was re-elected for the first time. 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,[11] 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.
On November 13, 2005, Compaoré was re-elected as President, defeating 12 opponents and winning 80.35% of the vote. Although 16 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 December 20, 2005.[12]
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.[13] Their actions eventually spread to the presidential compound and other army bases.[13] 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.[14]
Compaoré introduced Charles Taylor to his friend Muammar al-Gaddafi. Compaoré also helped Taylor in the early 1990s.[15][16]
In 1993, President Compaoré headed the Burkina-Faso delegation which participated in the first Tokyo International Conference on African Development.[17]
Compaoré has been active as a mediator in regional issues. On July 26, 2006, he was designated as the mediator of the Inter-Togolese Dialogue, which was held in Ouagadougou in August 2006[18] and resulted in an agreement between the government and opposition parties.[19] He has also acted as mediator in the crisis in Côte d'Ivoire, brokering the peace agreement that was signed by Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo and New Forces leader Guillaume Soro in Ouagadougou on March 4, 2007.[20]
He is an Honourary Member of The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation.
In an interview with the magazine Famille Chrétienne, President Compaoré asserted that the notion of sexual abstinence was not a monopoly of the Roman Catholic Church and that European NGOs who disagreed with traditional morality were profiting from the situation in order to intervene in regional African affairs.[21]
President Compaoré has been in been in Power for more than two decades; After his first two terms, he modified the constitution to reduce the duration of presidential term from 7 to 5 years; Currently he is in his last term (til end of 2015). However his political party is working towards suppressing the limitation of the presidential terms; The opposition parties and some of the civil rights advocates are not willing to let this happen, as it will likely bring future chaos for the country.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Thomas Sankara |
President of Burkina Faso 1987–present |
Incumbent |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by Dawda Jawara |
Chairperson of the Economic Community of West African States 1990–1991 |
Succeeded by Dawda Jawara |
| Preceded by Robert Mugabe |
Chairperson of the African Union 1998–1999 |
Succeeded by Abdelaziz Bouteflika |
| Preceded by Mamadou Tandja |
Chairperson of the Economic Community of West African States 2007–2008 |
Succeeded by Umaru Yar'Adua |
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