Thomas Sankara
| Thomas Sankara | |
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| President of Burkina Faso | |
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In office 4 August 1983 – 15 October 1987 |
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| Preceded by | Jean-Baptiste Ouédraogo |
| Succeeded by | Blaise Compaoré |
| Prime Minister of Upper Volta | |
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In office 10 January 1983 – 17 May 1983 |
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| President | Jean-Baptiste Ouédraogo |
| Preceded by | Saye Zerbo |
| Succeeded by | Youssouf Ouédraogo |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 21 December 1949 Yako, French Upper Volta (Now Burkina Faso) |
| Died | 15 October 1987 (aged 37) Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso |
| Spouse(s) | Mariam Sankara |
Thomas Isidore Noël Sankara (French pronunciation: [tɔma izidɔʁ nɔɛl sɑ̃kaʁa]; 21 December 1949 – 15 October 1987) was a Burkinabé military captain, Marxist revolutionary, pan-Africanist theorist, and President of Burkina Faso from 1983 to 1987. Viewed by supporters as a charismatic and iconic figure of revolution, he is commonly referred to as "Africa's Che Guevara".
Sankara seized power in a 1983 popularly supported coup at the age of 33, with the goal of eliminating corruption and the dominance of the former French colonial power. He immediately launched one of the most ambitious programmes for social and economic change ever attempted on the African continent. To symbolize this new autonomy and rebirth, he renamed the country from the French colonial Upper Volta to Burkina Faso ("Land of Upright Man"). His foreign policies were centered on anti-imperialism, with his government eschewing all foreign aid, pushing for odious debt reduction, nationalizing all land and mineral wealth, and averting the power and influence of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank. His domestic policies were focused on preventing famine with agrarian self-sufficiency and land reform, prioritizing education with a nationwide literacy campaign, and promoting public health by vaccinating 2.5 million children against meningitis, yellow fever, and measles.
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