10 Things You Didn’t Know About Blaise Compaoré

Blaise Compaoréwas a top associate of President Thomas Sankara (first President of Burkina Faso) during the 1980s, and in October 1987 he led a coup d'état during which Sankara was killed; till date, officially, the killers of Thomas Sankara have not been found but rumors have it that, Blaise Compaoré actually masterminded the killing of his own friend. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaise_Compaor%C3%A9#1991_and_1998_elections and http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13072774.

After seizing power in 1987, Blaise Compaoré went on to win four elections in 1991, 1998, 2005, and 2010. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaise_Compaor%C3%A9

Blaise Compaoré had earlier changed the constitution to remove the limit on his participation in elections after expiration of his tenure. After ruling from 1987 to 1991, he served two 7-year terms as elected president (1991-1997 and 1998-2005).

But Blaise Compaoré was not satisfied with power, he changed the constitution in 2000 and made the presidential tenure two 5-year terms. Under the guise of being in power before the change from 7 years to 5 years was made, he argued that laws shouldn't be retrospective. He therefore contested the 2005 and 2010 elections and won.

Blaise Compaoré's Burkina Faso literally means “the land of upright men”. The name Upper Volta was changed under Thomas Sankara to Burkina Faso.

Compaoré was born into a family of the Mossi ethnic group, one of the dominant ethnic groups in the then Upper Volta, and was raised in the town of Ziniaré, near Ouagadougou.

He attended military college in Yaoundé, Cameroon, and received paracommando training in Rabat, Morocco. From 1978 to 1981 he served as head of section and later company commander in an Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso)paracommando regiment.

Blaise Compaoré is married to Chantal Compaoré, born Chantal Terrasson de Fougères.

Blaise became known as Beau Blaise - good-looking Blaise. The nickname did not necessarily suggest he was popular. Many blamed him for the death of his predecessor, the charismatic revolutionary Thomas Sankara, who was killed by soldiers in mysterious circumstances. (Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-29851445)

MrCompaoréwas aged just 36 when he took power in Burkina Faso, a landlocked French colony previously known as Upper Volta. By the time he was ousted by popular revolt, he ruled for over 27 years.

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