Roch Marc Christian Kaboré
Roch Marc Christian Kaboré was the President of Burkina Faso. He took office on December 29, 2015, after winning the presidential election. After 27 years of uninterrupted, semi-authoritarian rule, former president Blaise Compaore’s departure opened the door to a more competitive electoral process, and peaceful elections were held in November 2015. Kaboré is a significant figure in Burkina Faso's politics, having previously served in various governmental roles, including as Prime Minister from 1994 to 1996 and as President of the National Assembly from 2002 to 2012.
Kabore was once seen as embodying hopes for change and development in a West African nation under siege from jihadists. Kabore, a former banker from the majority ethnic Mossi and a devout Roman Catholic in a largely Muslim country, made several changes at the head of the army and government but to no avail. A poorly trained and equipped army has failed to overcome the threat.
Kaboré was born on 25 April 1957 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. As a student in the French city of Dijon, Kabore was a committed leftist, and when Burkina's revered Marxist leader Thomas Sankara took power, he became the director of the International Bank of Burkina before he had even turned 30. He studied economics and banking and had worked in the banking sector.
Before becoming President, he was a member of the Congress for Democracy and Progress (CDP), which was the ruling party under President Blaise Compaoré. When Sankara was gunned down in 1987, Compaore took over the reins. Kabore moved into politics two years later and rose through the ranks, During Compaore's reign Kabore was appointed minister several times, and he was prime minister from 1994-96. He led the ruling Congress for Democracy and Progress (CDP) party for more than a decade and was seen as Compaore's likely heir, even joining the group that in 2010 began amending the constitution to keep the strongman in power.
But Kabore abruptly fell out of favor in 2012 and was reduced to a mere "political adviser" -- a move that eventually proved to be a blessing in disguise. Early in 2014, Kabore broke with the CDP after disagreements with Compaoré's attempt to extend his presidential term through constitutional amendments. He formed the People's Movement for Progress (MPP), catapulting him to power in a vote widely seen as sealing the transition to democracy.
In October 2014 Blaise Compaore, who had served as president since 1987, resigned and left the country following massive public demonstrations against his efforts to revise the constitutional articles on term limits to run for re-election in 2015. In November 2014 a transitional government led by interim president Michel Kafando and interim prime minister Yacouba Isaac Zida was established. On 16 September 2015, the transition was disrupted when members of the Presidential Security Regiment (RSP) interrupted the weekly meeting of the Council of Ministers and detained the interim president, prime minister, and cabinet members.
On September 17, General Gilbert Diendere, former head of the RSP, seized power and proclaimed himself president of a National Council for Democracy (CND). RSP soldiers killed and injured civilians, attacked journalists, raided media offices, and destroyed media equipment. On September 23, following a public outcry and mediation led by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Kafando was reinstated as interim president. Subsequently, a decree of the Cabinet of Ministers dissolved the RSP, and the regular military forces disarmed it. Authorities arrested and prosecuted General Diendere along with a number of military members, political leaders, and civilians for destabilizing the country.
On November 29, the country held peaceful and orderly presidential and legislative elections, marking a major milestone in the country’s transition to democracy. President Roch Mark Christian Kabore won with 53 percent of the popular vote, and his party--the People’s Movement for Progress (MPP)--won 55 seats in the 127-seat National Assembly. The Union for Progress and Change (UPC) won 33 seats, and the former ruling party, the Congress for Democracy and Progress (CDP), won 18. National and international observers characterized the elections as free and fair.
The impoverished Sahel state of 21 million people placed its hopes in the affable consensus-building Kabore when voters first elected him in 2015, a year after a popular insurrection toppled strongman Blaise Compaore. However, it was also in 2015 when armed jihadist groups started to launch attacks in Burkina Faso and had intensified them ever since. His presidency faced numerous challenges, including political unrest, economic difficulties, and increasing threats from Islamist extremist groups operating in the Sahel region. Burkina Faso has been grappling with security issues, particularly in the northern regions where terrorist attacks and ethnic violence have displaced thousands of people.
When he was re-elected for a second term in 2020, jihadists were launching attacks virtually daily, and had killed hundreds of people. The security forces appeared incapable of stopping the violence as whole swathes of the country slipped out of government control. So Kabore campaigned on the promise that he would make defeating the jihadists his priority. Casting himself as a father figure promoting national unity, Kabore also promised to foster dialogue and "continuous consultation" over his second five-year term.
A diplomat in neighbouring Ivory Coast once dubbed him "a kind of diffident king who holds plenty of meetings and listens from his armchair without taking decisions." Opposition figure Fousseny Ouedraogo said Kabore earned the nickname the "diesel president" for his slow pace, pointing to the time he took to appoint a prime minister and reshuffle the cabinet.
Burkina Faso's army said on 24 January 2022 it had ousted President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, suspended the country’s constitution, dissolved government and closed the national borders. The announcement followed hours of confusion after gunfire erupted at army camps. Mutinous troops in restive Burkina Faso arrested President Roch Marc Christian Kabore on Monday and detained him in army barracks a day after staging an uprising. Discontent had been brewing in the military for a while: Soldiers have long been demanding more resources and more support in their fight against jihadists.
The military takeover statement was made in the name of a previously unheard of entity, the Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration, or MPSR, its French language acronym. "MPSR, which includes all sections of the army, has decided to end President Kaboré's post today," it said. It cited the deterioration of the security situation and what it described as Kaboré's inability to unite the nation and effectively respond to the challenges it faces.
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