Blaise Compaoré

Also known as Blaise Compaore

President of Burkina Faso from 1987 to 2014

AI overview

Blaise Compaoré was the president of Burkina Faso for 27 years, from 1987 until 2014, making him one of the country's longest-serving leaders. His extended rule and eventual departure from power were significant events in Burkina Faso's modern political history.

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Wikidata facts

Instance of: human
Given name: Blaise
Gender: male
Citizenship: Ivory Coast
Place of birth: Ouagadougou
Spouse: Chantal Compaoré
Occupation: statesperson
Political party: Organization for Popular Democracy – Labour Movement
Languages spoken: French
Religion: Catholicism
Conflict: First Liberian Civil War
Military rank: captain
Image: Blaise Compaoré.jpeg
Convicted of: murder

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Commons category: Blaise Compaoré
date of birth: 1951-02-03
Commons gallery: Blaise Compaoré
name in native language: Blaise Compaoré
candidacy in election: 2005 Burkinabé presidential election
social media followers: 12600
member of: Académie des sciences d'outre-mer
P10632: Blaise Compaoré

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Encyclopedic overview

Blaise Compaoré ( French: [blɛz kɔ̃paɔʁe]; born 3 February 1951) is a Burkinabé politician and former military officer who served as the second president of Burkina Faso from 1987 until his government was overthrown in 2014. The longest-serving president in Burkinabé history, Compaoré previously served as the Minister of Justice from 1985 to 1987.

Born and raised in Ziniaré, Compaoré joined the Burkina 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 a coup d'état during which Sankara was killed two years later in 1987. Aged 36 when assuming office, Compaoré was the third youngest Burkinabé president, after Ibrahim Traoré and Sankara.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Blaise Compaoré” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.