The president of Burkina Faso () is the

head of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "

he head of state He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...

being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...

and as well as the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Burkina Faso. It is the highest office in Burkina Faso and has significant executive power, including appointing the

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

and other government officials. They also have the power to dissolve parliament and issue decrees. The office was first established in August 1960 as president of Upper Volta () after the country gained

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

from

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Maurice Yaméogo Maurice Nawalagmba Yaméogo (31 December 1921 – 15 September 1993) was the first President of the Republic of Upper Volta, now called Burkina Faso, from 1960 until 1966. "Monsieur Maurice" embodied the Voltaic state at the moment of independen ...

was the first holder of that office. On 4 August 1984, the day before the 24th anniversary of independence,

Thomas Sankara Thomas Isidore Noël Sankara (; 21 December 1949 – 15 October 1987) was a Burkinabè military officer, Marxist and Pan-Africanist revolutionary who served as the President of Burkina Faso from 1983, following his takeover in a coup, until ...

, who was the president from exactly one year earlier, became the president of Burkina Faso after the country changed its name the same day. The president is elected directly to a five-year term. Following ammendments in the

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

in 2000, the president should serve no more than two terms even though the term limit has not been met by any president yet. A total of seven people have served as president of Upper Volta/Burkina Faso (not counting four transitional heads of state/presidents and one acting president in rebellion). The current interim president is Capt.

Ibrahim Traoré Ibrahim Traoré (; born 14 March 1988) is a Burkinabé military officer and politician who has served as the interim President of Burkina Faso since 2022. Traoré took control of Burkina Faso in September 2022, ousting interim president Pa ...

, who took power during a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

on 30 September 2022.

Term limits

As of 2021, there is a two-term limit for the president in the

Constitution of Burkina Faso The Constitution of Burkina Faso was approved by referendum on 2 June 1991, formally adopted 11 June 1991 and last amended in January 2002. The last amendment abolished the upper chamber of the parliament, the Chamber of Representatives. In 2 ...

. The term limit has not been met by any president yet.

Titles

* 1960–1980: President of the Republic * 1980–1982: President of Military Committee of Recovery for National Progress * 1982: Chairman of Provisional Committee of Popular Salvation * 1982–1983: Head of State * 1983–1987: Chairman of National Revolutionary Council and Head of State * 1987–1991: President of Popular Front and Head of State * 1991–2014: President of the Republic * 2015: Chairman of

National Council for Democracy The National Council for Democracy (), led by Chairman-General Gilbert Diendéré, was the ruling cabinet of the military junta of Burkina Faso from 17 to 23 September 2015. It took temporary control of the preceding cabinet led by Interim Presiden ...

* 2015–2022: President of the Republic * 2022–present: President of the

Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration The Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration (PMSR) has been the ruling military junta of Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the sou ...

* 2022–present: President of the Republic

List of officeholders

;Political parties ;Other factions ;Status

Timeline

Latest election

Notes

References

External links

Presidency

{{Heads of state and government of Africa

Heads of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "

being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

Heads of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "

being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

1960 establishments in Upper Volta

Term limits

Titles

List of officeholders

Timeline

Latest election

See also

Notes

References

External links