{{Short description|President of Burkina Faso from 1987 to 2014}} {{Use British English|date=August 2022}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2023}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Blaise Compaoré | image = File:Blaise Compaoré 2014-08-05.jpg | alt = Compaoré, 63, in a photograph months before being overthrown, August 2014 | caption = Compaoré in 2014 | order = 2nd | office = President of Burkina Faso | prime_minister = {{Collapsible list|title=''See list'' | Youssouf Ouédraogo | Roch Marc Christian Kaboré | Kadré Désiré Ouedraogo | Paramanga Ernest Yonli | Tertius Zongo | Luc-Adolphe Tiao }} | term_start = 15 October 1987 | term_end = 31 October 2014 | predecessor = Thomas Sankara | successor = {{Plainlist| * Honoré Traoré<br />(as Interim Head of State) * Roch Marc Christian Kaboré<br />(as President, 2015) }} | office1 = Minister of Justice | president1 = Thomas Sankara | term_start1 = June 1985 | term_end1 = 15 October 1987 | predecessor1 = Raymond Poda | successor1 = Salif Sampebogo | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1951|2|3|df=yes}} | birth_place = Ziniaré, Upper Volta, French West Africa | citizenship = {{Plainlist| * Burkina Faso (1951–2016) * Ivory Coast (since 2016)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-35650193 |title=Burkina Faso ex-leader Blaise Compaore becomes Ivorian | date=24 February 2016 | publisher=BBC News | access-date=24 February 2016 }}</ref> }} | party = CDP (since 1996) | other_party = ODP–MT (1989–1996) | spouse = {{marriage|Chantal Terrasson de Fougères|1985}} | relations = François (brother) | children = | father = Bila Maurice Compaoré | mother = Tiga Thérèse Bougouma | alma_mater = | signature = Signature of Blaise Compaoré.png | signature_alt = | website = | footnotes = | nickname = Handsome Blaise<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.france24.com/en/20141030-blaise-compaore-african-peacemaker-burkina-faso-charles-taylor/ |title=Blaise Compaoré, the African peacemaker who faced rebellion at home | last1=Dodman | first1=Benjamin | date=31 October 2014 | publisher=France24 |access-date=3 November 2014}}</ref> <!-- Military service --> | allegiance = {{Plainlist| * {{Flag|Upper Volta}} * {{Flagu|Burkina Faso}} }} | branch = | service_years = 1971–1987 | rank = Captain | unit = | battles = 1983 Upper Voltan coup d'état<br>Agacher Strip War<br>1987 Burkina Faso coup d'état }} '''Blaise Compaoré''' ({{IPA|fr|blɛz kɔ̃paɔʁe|lang}}; born 3 February 1951)<ref name=Profiles>''Profiles of People in Power: The World's Government Leaders'' (2003), page 76–77.</ref><ref name=CV>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130813150939/http://presidence.bf/page.php?sid=8 "Biographie du président"], website of the Presidency {{in lang|fr}}.</ref> 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.
After taking office, he introduced a policy of 'rectification', overturning the leftist policies pursued by Sankara. In 1989, he founded the Organization for Popular Democracy – Labour Movement (ODP–MT), which merged with twelve other political parties to create the Congress for Democracy and Progress (CDP) in 1996. Compaoré won elections that were not considered free and fair in 1991, 1998, 2005, and 2010.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/215080.stm|title=BBC News {{!}} Africa {{!}} Burkina Faso president set for re-election|publisher=BBC News|access-date=11 February 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.irinnews.org/report/55816/burkina-faso-compaores-decision-bid-re-election-raises-opposition-hackles|title=Compaore's decision to bid for re-election raises opposition hackles|date=11 August 2005|newspaper=IRIN|access-date=11 February 2017|language=en}}</ref> Compaoré's attempt to amend the constitution to extend his 27-year term led to the 2014 Burkinabé uprising, leaving him to resign and flee to the Ivory Coast.<ref>{{cite news | date=31 October 2014 | title=Burkina Faso general takes over as Compaore resigns | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-29851445 |publisher=BBC | access-date=31 October 2014 }}</ref><ref>[https://www.reuters.com/article/burkina-politics-compaore-idUSL5N0SR09C20141101 "Former Burkina president Compaore arrives in Ivory Coast – sources"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141102042416/http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/01/burkina-politics-compaore-idUSL5N0SR09C20141101 |date=2 November 2014 }}, Reuters, 1 November 2014.</ref> In April 2022, he was sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment after being found guilty of complicity in Sankara’s murder.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-04-06 |title=Ex-president sentenced to life over Sankara murder |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-61008332 |access-date=2023-07-09 |publisher=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref>
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.
== Early career == Compaoré was born in Ziniaré, Upper Volta on 3 February 1951.<ref name=Profiles/>{{sfn|Peterson|2021|p=68}} His father was a veteran of the Second World War. He studied at a Catholic school in Fada N'gourma, followed by a Lycée in Ouagadougou. 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 of Thomas Sankara, whose father Joseph treated him as his own son.{{sfn|Peterson|2021|pp=68–69}}
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 the Yaoundé Military Academy in Cameroon. There he became acquainted with Henri Zongo and labor union leader Soumane Touré. Following the end of the 1974 Agacher Strip border clashes between Upper Volta and Mali, Compaoré was posted north of Ouahigouya. There he met Thomas Sankara, with whom he developed a close friendship.
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 de Fougères) since 1985.
Under Sankara's leadership, which lasted from 1983 to 1987, Compaoré was his deputy<ref name=NYT>[https://www.nytimes.com/1984/09/02/world/around-the-world-new-cabinet-named-in-bourkina-fasso.html "AROUND THE WORLD; New Cabinet Named In Bourkina Fasso"], ''The New York Times'', 2 September 1984.</ref> and a member of the National Revolutionary Council.<ref name=Profiles/> He served as Minister of State at the Presidency<ref name=Profiles/><ref name=CV/><ref name=NYT/> and subsequently as Minister of State for Justice.<ref name=CV/>
== Rise to power == Compaoré was involved in the 1983 and 1987 coups, taking power after the second in which his predecessor Sankara was killed. He was elected as the president of Burkina Faso in 1991, in an election that was boycotted by the opposition, and re-elected in 1998, 2005 and 2010.<ref>[http://www.blnz.com/news/2010/11/23/Burkina_Faso_opposition_claims_election_75e0.html "Burkina Faso president re-elected by landslide"], BLNZ. 25 November 2010</ref>
=== 1983 coup === {{Main|1983 Upper Voltan coup d'état}} On 4 August 1983, Compaoré organized a coup d'état, which deposed Major Jean-Baptiste Ouedraogo.<ref>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.</ref> The coup d'état was supported by Libya, which was, at the time, on the verge of war with France in Chad.<ref>Chad was at war with Libya. France was providing air support to Chad. According to witnesses, some French troops were involved in ground operations.</ref> Other key participants were Captain Henri Zongo, Major Jean-Baptiste Boukary Lingani and the charismatic Captain Thomas Sankara, who was pronounced President.
During the Agacher Strip War with Mali in December 1985, Compaoré commanded Burkinabé soldiers who split into small groups and employed guerrilla tactics against Malian tanks.<ref name= roger>{{cite news| last = Roger| first = Benjamin| title = Il y a trente ans éclatait la "guerre de Noël" entre le Mali et le Burkina Faso| newspaper = Jeune Afrique| language = fr| date = 25 December 2015| url = https://www.jeuneafrique.com/288381/politique/il-y-a-quarante-ans-eclatait-la-guerre-de-noel-entre-le-mali-et-le-burkina/| access-date = 7 November 2020}}</ref>
== Presidency (1987–2014) == === 1987 coup === {{Main|1987 Burkina Faso coup d'état}}
Compaoré took power on 15 October 1987 in a coup during which Sankara was killed.<ref name="guard-league">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/nov/30/burkina-faso |title=Burkina Faso's president is in a league of his own |quote=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... |first=Christophe |last=Châtelot |work=The Guardian Weekly |date=30 November 2010 |access-date=21 January 2015}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/(Symbol)/8d3fe6b44a5f39bdc1257172005150ec?Opendocument |title=United Nations Human Rights Website – Treaty Bodies Database – Document – Jurisprudence – Burkina Faso |publisher=Unhchr.ch |access-date=30 April 2013}}</ref> Upon taking the presidency, he annulled many of the policies of Sankara, claiming that his own direction was a "rectification" of the Burkinabé revolution.
He initially ruled in a triumvirate with Henri Zongo and Jean-Baptiste Boukary Lingani. In September 1989, Zongo and Boukary Lingani were arrested, charged with plotting to overthrow the government, summarily tried, and executed.<ref>[http://www.bookrags.com/tandf/burkina-faso-independence-to-the-tf/ "Burkina Faso (Upper Volta): Independence to the Present"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200827012208/http://www.bookrags.com/tandf/burkina-faso-independence-to-the-tf/ |date=27 August 2020 }}, ''Encyclopedia of African History''.</ref>
=== First years and 1990s === {{Main|History of Burkina Faso|Politics of Burkina Faso}}
thumb|Compaoré in India, 1997 In October 1987, Compaoré and many others formed a new political party called the Popular Front, centered around communist, as well as Marxist–Leninist ideals.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.amazon.com/2015-2016-Stryker-Francis-Wiafe-Amoako-2015-08-20/dp/B01JXP75HI |title=Africa 2015-2016}}</ref> He pledged to continue pursuing the goals of the revolution, but to "rectify" policies which he saw as deviating from the path set out by Thomas Sankara.<ref name="Burkina Faso 11/01">{{Cite web |date=2002-06-05 |title=Burkina Faso (11/01) |url=http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2834.htm |access-date=2023-07-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020605220610/http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2834.htm |archive-date=5 June 2002 }}</ref>
In September 1989, while Compaoré was returning from a two-week trip to Asia, there were rumors of a plot to overthrow his government and alleged plotters were arrested that same day, while Compaoré changed the membership of the nation's government. In 1990,he introduced "limited democratic reforms."<ref>{{Cite news |date=2011-04-13 |title=Burkina Faso country profile |language=en-GB |publisher=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13072774 |access-date=2023-07-26}}</ref> In June 1991, he announced that Burkina Faso would adopt a new constitution.
In the 1990s, Compaoré supported rebels in Sierra Leone during the country's civil war, a war that would kill over 45,000 people and last for 11 years.
In 1991, Compaoré was elected as the president of Burkina Faso, in an election boycotted by the main opposition parties in protest at the questionable means he had allegedly used to take office in the first place. Only 25 percent of the electorate voted.{{cn|date=May 2026}} In 1998, Compaoré was re-elected as president.
Between 1998 and 1999, an insurgency began in Burkina Faso. Many protests, riots, strikes, rallies and marches took place throughout the country. Protesters attacked government properties and civilian houses.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Harsch |first=Ernest |date=1999 |title=Trop, c'est trop! Civil Insurgence in Burkina Faso, 1998-99 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4006466 |journal=Review of African Political Economy |volume=26 |issue=81 |pages=395–406 |doi=10.1080/03056249908704402 |jstor=4006466 |issn=0305-6244|hdl=10.1080/03056249908704402 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>
=== 2000s === thumb|170px|Campaoré in 2003
Compaoré agreed to meet with organizations supervised by the United Nations after allegations surfaced that his government has been involved in smuggling arms to rebels in Sierra Leone and Angola. A week before that, Compaoré met with representatives from Germany, France, and the European Union, to address their concerns that the country had violated the arms embargo against Sierra Leone and Unita rebels.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Burkina Faso Co-Operates on Arms |url=https://archive.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/diamond/2000/1203burk.htm |access-date=2023-07-26 |website=archive.globalpolicy.org}}</ref>
In 2003, following accusations of a coup plot against Compaoré, numerous alleged plotters were arrested and, in a trial held in April 2004, they were found guilty. Many sympathizers gathered around the court cheering the plotters for their actions.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2004-04-06 |title=13 go on trial for plotting coup against Compaore |url=https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/report/49429/burkina-faso-13-go-trial-plotting-coup-against-compaore |access-date=2023-07-26 |website=The New Humanitarian |language=en}}</ref>
In August 2005, he announced his intention to participate in the next presidential election. Opposition politicians regarded this as unconstitutional due to a 2000 amendment limiting a president to two terms and reducing term lengths from seven to five years. Compaoré's supporters disputed this, arguing that the amendment could not be applied retroactively,<ref>[http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=48557&SelectRegion=West_Africa&SelectCountry=BURKINA_FASO "Burkina Faso: Compaore's decision to bid for re-election raises opposition hackles"], IRIN, 11 August 2005.</ref> 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 2nd term in office, thereby allowing him to submit his candidacy for the 2005 election. On 13 November 2005, Compaoré was re-elected as president, defeating 12 opponents and winning 80.35 percent of the vote.
[[File:Blaise Compaore with George Bush July 16, 2008.jpg|thumb|George W. Bush shakes hands with Compaoré, during a meeting in July 2008]] Compaoré was sworn in for another term on 20 December 2005.<ref>[http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/pays-zones-geo_833/burkina-faso_338/france-burkina-faso_1110/visites_8366/ceremonie-investiture-m.-blaise-compaore-20.12.05_27288.html "Mme Brigitte Girardin a représenté la France à la cérémonie d’investiture de M. Blaise Compaoré (Ouagadougou, 20 décembre 2005)"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090415165319/http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/pays-zones-geo_833/burkina-faso_338/france-burkina-faso_1110/visites_8366/ceremonie-investiture-m.-blaise-compaore-20.12.05_27288.html |date=15 April 2009 }}, French Ministry of Foreign Affairs {{in lang|fr}}.</ref>
In 2008, protests took place because of high living costs, calling for wage increases.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-11-22 |title=Burkina Faso: Historical Timeline - Cultures of Resistance Films |url=https://culturesofresistancefilms.com/bf-timeline/ |access-date=2023-07-26 |language=en-US}}</ref> Compaoré responded by suspending import taxes on products like food for half a year and by increasing subsidies for water and electricity.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2008-04-08 |title=General strike over cost of living |url=https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/report/77672/burkina-faso-general-strike-over-cost-living |access-date=2023-07-26 |website=The New Humanitarian |language=en}}</ref>
====Spanish Hostages Ransom==== Two Spanish aid workers were abducted in November 2009 and a manhunt began. One week before the hostages were freed, kidnapper Ould Sid Ahmed Ould Hama fled to Mali where he was found, extradited, and convicted to a 12-year prison sentence. It was reported that the ransom was paid by the president's wife, Blaise Compaoré; the hostages were feted in the presidential palace.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2010-08-22 |title=Al Qaeda frees Spanish hostages after nine months in captivity |url=https://www.france24.com/en/20100822-al-qaeda-north-africa-frees-two-spanish-hostages-mali-mauritania |access-date=2023-07-24 |website=France 24 |language=en}}</ref>
=== Final years in power (2010-2014) === thumb|Compaoré in 2013. Compaoré announced the establishment of a new Senate with a total of 89 members, with 29 of the senators to be directly appointed by the president, and the rest chosen by local politicians.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-02-06 |title=Barbados {{!}} Country report {{!}} Freedom in the World {{!}} 2014 |url=https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2014/barbados |access-date=2023-07-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170206195805/https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2014/barbados |archive-date=6 February 2017 }}</ref>
=== 2011 protests === {{Main|2011 Burkinabè protests}}
On 14 April 2011, Compaoré was reported to have fled from the capital Ouagadougou to his hometown of Ziniare after military formations mutinied in their barracks reportedly over unpaid allowances,<ref name="BBC">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/2011/04/110415_update_burkino_faso.shtml|title=Burkino Faso soldiers mutiny over pay|publisher=BBC World Service|date=15 April 2011|access-date=16 April 2011}}</ref> with the mutiny spreading to the presidential compound and army bases.<ref name="BBC" /> During the night, gunfire was reported at the presidential compound and an ambulance was seen leaving the compound and soldiers began looting shops in the city.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-16/burkina-faso-president-dissolves-government-as-soldiers-rampage.html|title=Burkina Faso President Dismisses Cabinet as Soldiers Loot in Ouagadougou|publisher=Bloomberg News|access-date=16 April 2011|date=16 April 2011}}</ref>
== Fall from power == === 2014 uprising === {{Main|2014 Burkinabé uprising}}
[[File:Burkina Faso Protests.png|thumb|Protesters marching through the capital Ouagadougou, 2014]]
In June 2014 Compaoré's ruling party, the Congress 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.enca.com/burkina-faso-ruling-party-calls-referendum-term-limits |title=Burkina Faso ruling party calls for referendum on term limits, Africa |date=22 June 2014 |website=ENCA |access-date=30 June 2014 |archive-date=20 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200220023939/https://www.enca.com/burkina-faso-ruling-party-calls-referendum-term-limits |url-status=dead }}</ref>
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.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-29831262 "Burkina Faso parliament set ablaze"], BBC News, 30 October 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2014.</ref> Opposition spokesman Pargui 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)'.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/30/protesters-storm-burkina-faso-parliament-constitution-vote-president-blaise-compaore "Protesters storm Burkina Faso's parliament"]. ''The Guardian''. 30 October 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2014.</ref>
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.<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-29840100 "Burkina Faso army announces emergency measures"], BBC News, 30 October 2014.</ref><ref>Hervé Taoko and Alan Cowell, [https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/31/world/africa/burkina-faso-protests-blaise-compaore.html "Government of Burkina Faso collapses"], ''The New York Times'', 30 October 2014.</ref><ref>Mathieu Bonkoungou and Joe Penney, [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-burkina-politics-idUSKBN0IJ0NZ20141030 "Burkina army imposes interim government after crowd burns parliament"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924210110/http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/30/us-burkina-politics-idUSKBN0IJ0NZ20141030 |date=24 September 2015 }}, Reuters, 30 October 2014.</ref> Compaoré said that he was prepared to leave office at the end of the transition.<ref>[http://www.dw.de/compaore-says-will-step-down-as-burkina-faso-president/a-18031319 "Compaore says will step down as Burkina Faso president"], Deutsche Welle, 30 October 2014.</ref>
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 officer Yacouba 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 of Pô.<ref name="resign">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-29851445|title=Burkina Faso general takes over as Compaore resigns|publisher=BBC News|date=1 November 2014}}</ref> However, it diverted before reaching the town and he then fled to Ivory Coast with the support of President Alassane Ouattara.<ref>[http://www.aa.com.tr/en/world/413642--burkina-fasos-ex-president-in-safe-place-zida "Burkina Faso president arrives in Ivory Coast"], Anadolu Agency, 1 November 2014.</ref><ref>[https://archive.today/20141101230603/http://www.thestate.com/2014/11/01/3782776/burkina-faso-president-in-ivory.html "Burkina Faso appoints new transitional leader"], Associated Press, 1 November 2014.</ref><ref>[https://www.reuters.com/article/burkina-politics-compaore-idUSL5N0SR09C20141101 "Former Burkina president Compaore arrives in Ivory Coast – sources"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141102042416/http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/01/burkina-politics-compaore-idUSL5N0SR09C20141101 |date=2 November 2014 }}, Reuter, 1 November 2014.</ref><ref>[http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/11/ex-burkina-president-compaore-ivory-coast/ "Ex-Burkina president Compaore in Ivory Coast"], Vanguard, 1 November 2014.</ref>
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.<ref>[https://news.yahoo.com/burkina-main-players-consider-transition-plan-075825461.html "Burkina Faso transition talks move forward"], AFP, 9 November 2014.</ref>
The first head of state that has been in office for more than a short time after Blaise Campaoré is Roch Marc Christian Kaboré as of 29 December 2015.
== Liberian Civil War == {{Main|First Liberian Civil War}}
Compaoré introduced Charles Taylor to his friend Muammar Gaddafi. Compaoré also helped Taylor in the early 1990s by sending him troops and resources.<ref>Liberia's civil war: Nigeria, ECOMOG, and regional security in West Africa. Adekeye Adebajo p. 55</ref><ref>A dirty war in West Africa: the RUF and the destruction of Sierra Leone, Volume 2005, Part 2. Lansana Gberie p. 53</ref>
== International and regional roles == [[File:Ansar Dine et MNLA à Ouagadougou.PNG|thumb|Compaoré's foreign minister Djibril Bassolé with the delegates of Ansar Dine and the MNLA in Ouagadougou on 16 November 2012]]
In 1993, Compaoré headed the Burkina Faso delegation that participated in the first Tokyo International Conference on African Development.<ref>Japan, Ministry for Foreign Affairs (MOFA): [http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/africa/ticad/list/africa.html 28 African nations]</ref>
Compaoré was active as a mediator in regional issues.<ref name = "fessy">{{Cite web | last=Fessy | first=Thomas| title=How Burkina Faso's Blaise Compaore sparked his own downfall | publisher=BBC News | access-date=2 November 2014 | date=31 October 2014 | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-29858965}}</ref> On 26 July 2006, he was designated as the mediator of the Inter-Togolese Dialogue, which was held in Ouagadougou in August 2006<ref>"Inter-Togolese dialogue resumes in Ouagadougou", republicoftogo.com (nl.newsbank.com), 9 August 2006.</ref> and resulted in an agreement between the government and opposition parties.<ref>[http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=60422 "TOGO: Political agreement aims to end 12-year feud"], IRIN, 21 August 2006.</ref>
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.<ref>[http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=70514 "COTE D'IVOIRE: New peace agreement"], IRIN, 5 March 2007.</ref> In March 2012, he acted as a mediator in talks between representatives of the Malian coup d'état and other regional leaders.<ref name=BBC313>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17576263 |title=Mali Tuareg rebels seize key garrison town of Gao | date=31 March 2012 | publisher=BBC News | access-date=31 March 2012}}</ref> He hosted talks with them to discuss peace to the conflict.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2012-11-24 |title=Burkina Faso calls upon Mali to open talks with northern rebels |language=en |work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/cnews-us-mali-burkina-crisis-idCABRE8AN0AT20121124 |access-date=2023-07-26}}</ref> [[File:Blaise Compaore with Obamas.jpg|thumb|Compaoré with US President Barack Obama]] The BBC noted in 2014 that he was 'the strongest ally to France and the United 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'.<ref name = "fessy" />
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.<ref>[https://www.franceinter.fr/emissions/geopolitique/geopolitique-14-aout-2017 France Inter, Géopolitique, Anthony Bellanger, Radio France August 14th 2017.]</ref>
He served on the International Multilateral Partnership Against Cyber Threats (IMPACT) International Advisory Board.
== Views on sexuality == In an interview with the magazine ''Famille Chrétienne'', Compaoré asserted that the notion of sexual abstinence was not a monopoly of the Roman Catholic Church and that European non-governmental organizations that disagreed with traditional morality were profiting from the situation to intervene in regional African affairs.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.famillechretienne.fr/societe/bioethique/l-eglise-n-a-pas-le-monopole-de-l-abstinence_t7_s29_d28265.html | title=Famille Chrétienne | publisher=Famillechretienne.fr | access-date=30 April 2013}}</ref>
== Indictment in exile == In April 2021, a military court in Burkina Faso indicted Compaoré ''in absentia'', charging him with the 1987 murder of his immediate predecessor, Thomas Sankara.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/4/13/burkina-faso-ex-president-blaise-compaore-charged-thomas-sankara-murder |title=Burkinabe ex-President Compaore charged in Thomas Sankara murder |publisher=Al Jazeera|date=13 April 2021 }}</ref> Another trial against him, on counts of attacking state security, concealing a corpse, and complicity in a murder, began on 11 October 2021.<ref>{{cite news |title=Thomas Sankara trial in Burkina Faso: Who killed 'Africa's Che Guevara'? |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-58842427 |access-date=11 October 2021 |publisher=BBC News |date=11 October 2021}}</ref> In April 2022, he was found guilty on all charges and sentenced to life in prison.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/06/world/africa/burkina-faso-blaise-compaore-thomas-sankara.html|title=Ex-Leader of Burkina Faso Convicted in Killing of Thomas Sankara, His Predecessor|work=The New York Times|first=Declan|last=Walsh|date=6 April 2022|access-date=6 April 2022}}</ref>
Compaoré remains in the Ivory Coast as a political refugee, obtaining, in 2016, Ivorian citizenship.<ref name=riddled>{{cite news |date=24 February 2016 |title=Burkina Faso ex-leader Blaise Compaore becomes Ivorian|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-35650193|work=BBC|access-date=13 May 2026}}</ref> A 2015 autopsy on the remains of Sankara revealed that the body was "riddled with bullets."<ref name=riddled/>
==Honors== *{{flag|Guinea}}: **60px Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit (17 July 2014) *{{flag|Mali}}: **60px Grand Cross of the National Order of Mali (August 2013)<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.maliweb.net/nation/au-cours-dune-tournee-de-32-heures-a-abuja-cotonou-et-ouagadougou-dioncounda-traore-eleve-les-presidents-goodluck-jonathan-yayi-boni-et-blaise-compaore-a-la-dignite-du-grand-croix-de-lordre-na-164754.html | title=Maliweb.net - Au cours d'une tournée de 32 heures à Abuja, Cotonou et Ouagadougou : Dioncounda Traoré élève les présidents Goodluck Jonathan, Yayi Boni et Blaise Compaoré à la Dignité du Grand-Croix de l'Ordre National du Mali | date=19 August 2013 }}</ref> *{{Flag|Taiwan}}: **60px Grand Cordon of the Order of Brilliant Jade (July 1994)<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Veney |first1=Cassandra R. |last2=Payne |first2=Richard J. |title=Taiwan and Africa: Taipei's Continuing Search for International Recognition |journal=Journal of Asian and African Studies |date=2001 |volume=36 |issue=4 |page=447 |doi=10.1163/15685210152691972 |doi-broken-date=1 July 2025 |quote=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.}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
==Sources== * {{cite book|last=Peterson|first=Brian|title=Thomas Sankara: A Revolutionary in Cold War Africa|publisher=Indiana University Press|location=Bloomington|isbn=978-0253053763|date=2021}}
== Further reading == * {{cite book |last=Guion |first=Jean R. |year=1991 |title=Blaise Compaoré: Realism and Integrity: Portrait of the Man Behind Rectification in Burkina Faso |location=Paris |publisher=Berger-Levrault International |isbn=2701310008 }}
== External links == {{Commons category|Blaise Compaoré}}
<!-- * {{Twitter|PF_Compaore}} DO NOT ADD until the account is verified or you can otherwise (with reliable sources) prove it is actually him --> * {{Cite web | title = Burkina Faso protests: Compaore's 27 years as president |publisher=BBC News |access-date=2 November 2014 |date=31 October 2014 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-29844965}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20030704084318/http://www.african-geopolitics.org/show.aspx?ArticleId=3110 Pascal Drouhaud interviews Blaise Compaoré] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20050525235542/http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=10129&Valider=OK Reporters Without Borders, Burkina Faso 2004 Annual Report] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20060104071314/http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/48/ IFEX: Monitoring media freedom in Burkina Faso] * {{C-SPAN|57103}}
{{s-start}} {{s-off}} {{s-bef|before=Thomas Sankara}} {{s-ttl|title=President of Burkina Faso|years=1987–2014}} {{s-aft|after=Yacouba Isaac Zida|as=Transitional Head of State}} |- {{s-dip}} {{s-bef|before=Dawda Jawara}} {{s-ttl|title=Chairperson of the Economic Community of West African States|years=1990–1991}} {{s-aft|after=Dawda Jawara}} |- {{s-bef|before=Robert Mugabe}} {{s-ttl|title=Chairperson of the African Union|years=1998–1999}} {{s-aft|after=Abdelaziz Bouteflika}} |- {{s-bef|before=Mamadou Tandja}} {{s-ttl|title=Chairperson of the Economic Community of West African States|years=2007–2008}} {{s-aft|after=Umaru Yar'Adua}} {{s-end}}
{{Presidents of Burkina Faso}} {{African Union chairpersons}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Compaore, Blaise}} Category:1951 births Category:Burkinabe military personnel Category:Congress for Democracy and Progress politicians Category:Exiled politicians Category:Government ministers of Burkina Faso Category:Heads of state of Burkina Faso Category:Leaders ousted by a coup Category:Leaders who took power by coup Category:Living people Category:People from Plateau-Central Region Category:21st-century Burkinabe politicians Category:People convicted in absentia Category:Politicide perpetrators Category:20th-century Burkinabe politicians