# Henri Zongo

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**Henri Zongo** (died 19 September 1989) was a Burkinabé politician and military officer.[1] He served as a key figure in the country's history after [decolonisation](/source/Decolonisation): Zongo was involved in two successful [coup d'états](/source/Coup_d'%C3%A9tat) and accused of being the conspirator of a third that led to his execution.

Zongo, [Thomas Sankara](/source/Thomas_Sankara), [Jean-Baptiste Boukary Lingani](/source/Jean-Baptiste_Boukary_Lingani) and [Blaise Compaoré](/source/Blaise_Compaor%C3%A9) formed the inner core of a military group that launched the [1983 coup d'état](/source/1983_Upper_Voltan_coup_d'%C3%A9tat_attempt) that brought Sankara to power as president.[2] Zongo was appointed as the Minister of Economic Promotion on 4 August 1983,[3] a role he served until his death.[4] Zongo also served as the Sports Minister of Upper Volta; he called for an African boycott of the [1984 Summer Olympics](/source/1984_Summer_Olympics) to protest against Britain's sporting links with South Africa, whose [apartheid](/source/Apartheid) rule institutionalised [racial segregation](/source/Racial_segregation).[5]

Zongo, Lingani and Compaoré then led the [1987 coup d'état](/source/1987_Burkina_Faso_coup_d'%C3%A9tat) that saw the overthrow of Sankara. After this overthrow, Compaoré took power at the head of a [triumvirate](/source/Triumvirate) of which Zongo and Lingani were members. Zongo and Lingani disagreed with Compaoré on [economic reform](/source/Economic_reform) issues and were accused of an attempt to [overthrow the government](/source/1989_Burkina_Faso_coup_attempt). Zongo, Lingani and two unnamed military plotters were arrested and executed in 1989.[1][6]

## References

1. Guiguemde, Pierre H. (30 August 2019). ["Burkina Faso :: Independence - Britannica Online Encyclopedia"](http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-54898/Burkina-Faso#516568.hook). *Britannica*. Retrieved 8 September 2020.

1. ["Burkina Faso's Leader Ousted by Deputy"](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-10-16-mn-9745-story.html). *Los Angeles Times*. 16 October 1987. Retrieved 8 September 2020.

1. Prairie, Michel (2019). *Thomas Sankara Speaks*. Ninth ed. Canada: Pathfinder Press. p. 471. ISBN 978-0-87348-986-7.

1. ["Burkina Faso coup leaders killed"](https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/423700347/). *The Gazette*. 20 September 1989. p. 40. Retrieved 8 September 2020.

1. ["Olympics Senior African sports official calls for boycott"](https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/183716525/). *Clarion-Ledger*. 3 July 1984. p. 26. Retrieved 8 September 2020.

1. ["Four Coup Plotters Executed in Burkina Faso"](https://apnews.com/28c51bbee639fdf22a5cb486878f4cbf). *Associated Press*. 20 September 1989. Retrieved 8 September 2020.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Henri Zongo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Zongo) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Zongo?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.