Patriotic League For Development

Patriotic League for Development (, LIPAD) was an open mass front of the

African Independence Party The African Independence Party (, PAI) was a communist party in French West Africa (AOF). PAI was founded in Thiès, Senegal in 1957. Later as AOF was dissolved into independent countries the local PAI sections became independent parties, often ke ...

(PAI) in

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 ...

. LIPAD was founded in September 1973 and was led by

Hama Arba Diallo Hama Arba Diallo (23 March 1939 – 30 September 2014) was a Burkinabé politician, diplomat and civil servant. He was minister of foreign affairs of Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso) from 1983 to 1984. Diallo, an opponent of President Blaise Co ...

. The militants of LIPAD were generally called ''lipadistes''. LIPAD had its main influence in the

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

movement. The general secretary of the Voltaic Trade Union Confederation (CSV),

Soumane Touré Soumane Touré (14 March 1948 – 25 March 2021) was a Burkinabé politician and trade unionist. He was a prominent student activist during his youth and joined the communist African Independence Party (PAI). He served as the general secretary ...

, was also the head of the LIPAD section in

Ouagadougou Ouagadougou or Wagadugu (, , , ) is the capital city of Burkina Faso, and the administrative, communications, cultural and economic centre of the nation. It is also the List of cities in Burkina Faso#Largest cities, country's largest city, wi ...

. LIPAD opted for 'Popular Revolution of National Liberation' (RPLN). Initially LIPAD offered vital support to the revolution of

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 ...

. In May 1983 pro-LIPAD students conducted massive demonstrations demanding his release. But when Sankara opted for the 'Popular and Democratic Revolution' promoted by ULC, LIPAD withdrew its support. The

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

played an important role in provoking the split away from the Sankara government. From August 3, 1983, to August 1984 LIPAD held five ministerial posts. Arba Diallo was Minister of Foreign Affairs, Philippe Ouédraogo Minister of Equipment and Telecommunications and Adama Touré Minister of Information. After the break in 1984 (generally called ''la clarification'') Diallo and Touré were jailed. Diallo was released in 1985 and Touré in 1986. But even after ''la clarification'' lipadistes continued to hold some important positions. Michael Tapsoba was appointed Minister for Water in the new government. Ouédraogo was appointed chief engineer of mining. 1973 establishments in Upper Volta Communist parties in Burkina Faso Defunct communist parties Defunct political parties in Burkina Faso Political parties established in 1973 Political parties with year of disestablishment missing Popular fronts of communist states {{CP-stub