Republic of Upper Volta
Former country in West Africa (1958–1984); now Burkina Faso
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.[3][4] 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.[5] On 4 August 1984, it changed its name to Burkina Faso.
Sovereign state (since 1960)
- French (official)
- Mossi
- Fula
- Gourmanché
- Bambara
Republic of Upper Volta | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1958–1984 | |||||||||
| Motto: "Unité – Travail – Justice" (in French) "Unity – Work – Justice" | |||||||||
| Anthem: Hymne National Voltaïque | |||||||||
 | |||||||||
| Status | Self-governing colony (until 1960) Sovereign state (since 1960) | ||||||||
| Capital | Ouagadougou | ||||||||
| Common languages |
| ||||||||
| Demonym | Upper Voltan[1] | ||||||||
| Government | 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 | ||||||||
| 11 December 1958 | |||||||||
| 5 August 1960 | |||||||||
| 3 January 1966 | |||||||||
| 25 November 1980 | |||||||||
| 7 November 1982 | |||||||||
| 4 August 1983 | |||||||||
• Renamed | 4 August 1984 | ||||||||
| Population | |||||||||
• 1980[2] estimate | 6,823,000 | ||||||||
| Currency | CFA franc | ||||||||
| ISO 3166 code | HV | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of | 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, as a result of a deep authoritarian streak that began prior to his presidency. Between the time he became prime minister of Upper Volta, while it was still a French colony, and independence two years later, his government subjected opposition parties 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 came to power through yet another military coup d'état on 4 August 1983.[6] 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".[7]
Politics
From 1958 to 1960, the Republic of Upper Volta was led by a high commissioner:
- Max Berthet (11 December 1958 to February 1959)[citation needed],
- Paul Masson (February 1959 to 5 August 1960)[citation needed].
From 1971 to 1987, the Republic of Upper Volta was led by a prime minister:
- Gérard Kango Ouédraogo (13 February 1971 to 8 February 1974)
- Thomas Sankara (4 August 1983 to 14 October 1987)
Cultural references
During the 1960s, the Soviet Union was sometimes derisively referred to as "Upper Volta with rockets",[8] coined by a journalist Xan Smiley,[9] referencing USSR's disproportion of defence sector over relatively undeveloped civilian economy.[10]