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Republic of Upper VoltaRépublique de Haute-Volta (French)
1958–1984
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: "Unité – Travail – Justice" (in French) "Unity – Work – Justice"
Anthem: Hymne National Voltaïque
Capital	Ouagadougou
Common languages	French (official) Mossi Fula Gourmanché Bambara
Religion	Sunni Islam Christianity Traditional religions
Demonym(s)	Upper Voltan
Government	One-party presidential republic (1960–1966) Military dictatorship (1966–1984)
President
• 1959–1966	Maurice Yaméogo
• 1966–1980	Sangoulé Lamizana
• 1980–1982	Saye Zerbo
• 1982–1983	Jean-Baptiste Ouédraogo
• 1983–1984	Thomas Sankara
High Commissioner
• 1958–1959	Max Berthet
• 1959–1960	Paul Masson
Prime Minister
• 1971–1974	Gérard Kango Ouédraogo
• 1983	Thomas Sankara
Historical era	Cold War
• Self-governing colony	11 December 1958
• Independence	5 August 1960
• Coup d'état	3 January 1966
• Coup d'état	25 November 1980
• Coup d'état	7 November 1982
• Coup d'état	4 August 1983
• Renamed	4 August 1984
Currency	CFA franc
ISO 3166 code	HV
Preceded by Succeeded by French Upper Volta Burkina Faso
Today part of	Burkina Faso

Part of a series on the
History of Burkina Faso
Bura Bura-Asinda Prehistoric c. 3rd–13th century Mossi Kingdoms c. 11th century – 1896 Kong Empire c. 1710 – 1898 French Upper Volta 1919–1932 1947–1958 Republic 1958–1984
Burkina Faso (1984–present)
Agacher Strip War 1985 Assassination of Sankara 1987 Compaoré rule 1987–2014 Burkinabè revolution 2014 Transitional period 2014–2015 Jihadist insurgency 2015–present Burkinabé coup d'état 2015 2015 elections and aftermath 2015–2022 January and September coup d'état 2022
v t e

The Republic of Upper Volta (French: République de Haute-Volta) was a landlocked West African country established on 11 December 1958 as a self-governing state within the French Community. Before becoming autonomous, it had been part of the French Union as the French Upper Volta. On 5 August 1960, it gained full independence from France. On 4 August 1984, it changed its name to Burkina Faso.

Etymology

The name Upper Volta indicated that the country contains the upper part of the Volta River.

History

Upper Volta obtained independence on 5 August 1960, with Maurice Yaméogo of the Voltaic Democratic Union-African Democratic Rally (UDV-RDA) becoming the country's first president. A constitution was ratified the same year, establishing presidential elections by direct universal suffrage and a National Assembly, both with five-year terms. Shortly after coming to power, Yaméogo banned all political parties other than the UDV-RDA. He had shown a deep authoritarian streak even before becoming president. Between the time he became prime minister of Upper Volta while it was still a French colony and independence two years later, opposition parties were subjected to increased harassment.

On 3 January 1966, Yaméogo was overthrown in a coup d'état led by army chief Sangoulé Lamizana. Although multiparty democracy was nominally restored four years later, Lamizana dominated the country's politics until he was himself overthrown in 1980.

After a series of short-term presidencies, Thomas Sankara then came to power through a military coup d'état on 4 August 1983. After the coup, he formed the National Council for the Revolution (CNR), with himself as president. Under the direction of Sankara, the country changed its name on 4 August 1984, from Upper Volta to Burkina Faso, which means "Land of Incorruptible People".

Politics

From 1958 to 1960, the Republic of Upper Volta was led by a high commissioner:

• Max Berthet (11 December 1958 to February 1959),
• Paul Masson (February 1959 to 5 August 1960).

From 1971 to 1987, the Republic of Upper Volta was led by a prime minister:

• Gérard Kango Ouedraogo (13 February 1971 to 8 February 1974)
• Thomas Sankara (4 August 1983 to 14 October 1987)

Symbols

Flag

The colours of the national flag corresponded to the names of its three main tributaries: the Black Volta, the White Volta and the Red Volta.

National Hymn

This anthem was replaced in 1984 by a new anthem, the Ditanyè.

Cultural references

During the 1960s, the Soviet Union was sometimes derisively referred to as "Upper Volta with rockets", coined by a journalist Xan Smiley, referencing USSR's disproportion of defence sector over relatively undeveloped civilian economy.

See also

• History of Burkina Faso
• List of governors of Upper Volta
• List of heads of state of Burkina Faso
• List of heads of government of Burkina Faso

References

1. National Basic Intelligence Factbook. United States: Central Intelligence Agency, 1980, p. 205
2. "Burkina Faso". Afripedia. Africa.com. Archived from the original on 11 February 2017. Retrieved 9 February 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
3. "Field Listing: National Holiday". The World Factbook. CIA. Archived from the original on 22 September 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
4. Meredith, Martin (2013). The State of Africa. Simon & Schuster. p. 69. ISBN 9780857203885.
5. "Thomas Sankara". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 10 October 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
6. "More (Language of the Mossi Tribe) Phrase Book". World Digital Library. Archived from the original on 23 November 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
7. "Upper Volta (Burkina Faso, 1959-1984)". Flags of the World. Archived from the original on 20 September 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
8. Crashaw, Steve (15 November 1998). "Televison [sic]: From Burkina Faso with rockets to Upper Volta without". The Independent. London. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
9. "Research Topics". www.russialist.org. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
10. Harrison, Mark (7 November 2017). "The Soviet economy, 1917-1991: Its life and afterlife". VoxEU.org. Retrieved 7 November 2017.

v t e Burkina Faso articles
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Outline Index Category

v t e Years in Burkina Faso (1960–present)
Pre-1960s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025

12°06′N 1°42′W / 12.1°N 1.7°W / 12.1; -1.7

• French West Africa
• Former colonies in Africa
• Former French colonies
• French colonisation in Africa
• Former republics
• 20th century in Burkina Faso
• States and territories established in 1958
• States and territories disestablished in 1960
• 1958 establishments in French West Africa
• 1958 establishments in the French colonial empire
• 1960 disestablishments in the French colonial empire
• Burkina Faso–France relations
• Military dictatorships