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Blaise Compaoré | |
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| Born | 3 February 1951 Ziniaré, Upper Volta, French-occupied West Africa |
| Political orientation | Neocolonialism |
| Political party | Congress for Democracy and Progress |
Blaise Compaoré (born 3 February 1951) is a Burkinabé politician and former dictator, ruling from 1987 to 2014.[1]
Early life
Compaoré befriended fellow military officer Thomas Sankara during the 1970s and played in a band with him. Sankara's parents adopted Compaoré after his parents died.[1]
Revolutionary government
In 1983, Sankara and Compaoré overthrew military dictator Jean-Baptiste Ouédraogo. Sankara became President, and Compaoré became his deputy.[1]
1987 counterrevolution
In 1987, Compaoré and a group of commandos stormed a government meeting and shot Sankara and 12 others. The day after the coup, French authorities destroyed wiretaps targeting Compaoré.[1]
Presidency
Compaoré privatized much of Burkina Faso's mining industry and let AFRICOM create a surveillance base at the Ouagadougou International Airport. He prevented investigators from exhuming Sankara's body.[1]
Overthrow and later life
Overthrow
Protestors overthrew Compaoré in 2014, and French troops airlifted him to the Ivory Coast, where he now lives in exile.[1]
Trial
On 6 April 2022, a court in Ouagadougou convicted Compaoré of murder and sentenced him to life in prison. It also convicted former head of security Hyacinthe Kafundo and General Gilbert Diendéré of murder and five others of lesser crimes. Three people were acquitted, including the doctor who claimed that Sankara died from natural causes.[1]
Personal life
Compaoré married Chantal Terrason, the daughter of Ivorian president Félix Houphouët-Boigny.[1]