Blaise Compaoré is known to be the second president of Burkina Faso after independence who was in office from 1987 to 2014. He was born on February 3, 1951, in a town called Ziniare in Burkina Faso. He is the eldest child of his parents out of seven siblings.
Blaise became interested in history, geography, and African proverbs when he was a student at Saint Joseph School located at Fada N’Gourma east of Burkina Faso. The school was run by missionaries.
Blaise was part of the army and after he met Thomas Sankara at a military training centre in Morocco, the two became very close friends. Sankara became the president of Burkina Faso in 1983 and made Blaise his deputy.
Blaise was a member of the National Revolutionary Council under Sankara’s leadership as well as a Minister of State at the Presidency and also a Minister of State for Justice.
In 1987, Blaise was elected president after he led coups d’état which caused Sankara to be killed. Blaise has recently been in the news for being found guilty of murdering his predecessor and friend, Thomas Sankara. The court has sentenced him to life imprisonment.
Bila Maurice Compaoré: Who Is Blaise Compaoré’s Father?
Blaise Compaoré’s father, Bila Maurice Compaoré was a Republican Guard who was made in charge of protecting high officials.
He also fought against Nazi Germany during the Second World War.
