Upper Volta to Burkina Faso
Upper Volta became independent from France in 1960 under its colonial name. On 4 August 1984, the first anniversary of the coup that brought him to power, Captain Thomas Sankara renamed it Burkina Faso, the land of upright, or incorruptible, people, in two of its own languages.
Written from cited sourcesLast checked 28 September 2026Suggest a correction
- Upper Volta (Haute-Volta)French colony; independent 1960–1984
- Burkina Faso1984–
Upper Volta
A former French colony, the country became independent in 1960 under the name Upper Volta.[1] The military ousted its first elected government in 1966 and intervened repeatedly after that: strikes brought another coup in November 1980, and junior officers installed Major Jean-Baptiste Ouedraogo as president in November 1982.[3]
Ouedraogo’s government split into conservative and radical camps. On 4 August 1983 the radicals seized power and set up a National Revolutionary Council with Captain Thomas Sankara, then 33, as head of state.[3][2]
A new name for a revolution
Sankara declared that his “democratic and popular revolution” would fight corruption and environmental damage, empower women and widen access to education and health care, with the larger goal of ending imperial domination.[2]
On the first anniversary of the coup he changed the country’s name from Upper Volta to Burkina Faso. It means roughly “land of upright people” in Mossi and Dyula, the country’s two most widely spoken indigenous languages.[2] Britannica also renders it “Land of Incorruptible People”. In the same spirit Sankara ordered all officials, himself included, to open their bank accounts to public scrutiny.[3]
The name outlived him
Dissent grew, and on 15 October 1987 Sankara was killed in a coup led by his friend Blaise Compaoré and two others. Compaoré ruled until popular unrest forced him to resign in 2014.[2] On 6 April 2022 a military tribunal found Compaoré and nine others guilty of complicity in Sankara’s murder.[2] The country is still Burkina Faso.[1]
Timeline
1960
Independence
Upper Volta becomes independent from France.[1]
19834 August 1983
Sankara takes power
Radical officers seize power and make Sankara head of state.[3][2]
19844 August 1984
Burkina Faso
On the coup’s first anniversary, Sankara renames the country.[2]
198715 October 1987
Sankara killed
Sankara dies in a coup led by Blaise Compaoré.[2]
20226 April 2022
Verdict
Compaoré is found guilty of complicity in the murder.[2]
Sources
- [1]Burkina Faso · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- [2]Thomas Sankara · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- [3]Burkina Faso: Independence · Encyclopaedia Britannica (Pierre H. Guiguemde)
Map geometry from Natural Earth via world-atlas. See credits.