Saye Zerbo

Colonel Saye Zerbo (27 August 1932 – 19 September 2013) was a President of Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso) from 25 November 1980 to 7 November 1982. He led a coup in 1980, but was resisted by trade unions and was overthrown by Maj. Dr. Jean-Baptiste Ouédraogo and the Council of Popular Salvation (CSP).

Zerbo came from Tougan in Sourou Province in the western part of the country. He went to school in Mali and Saint-Louis, Senegal. Then he joined the French military in 1950 and attended the military academy Saint-Cyr. As a paratrooper, Zerbo took part in both the First Indochina War and the Algerian War of Independence. After Upper Volta's independence from France in 1960, he transferred to that country's army in 1961.

In the military government of Sangoulé Lamizana, who ruled Upper Volta from 1966, Saye Zerbo was foreign minister from 1974 to 1976. He also held the positions of commander of the regiment in the capital Ouagadougou and director of the military intelligence agency.