Blaise Compaoré in the context of Ibrahim Traoré

On 4 August 1983, a coup d'état was launched in the Republic of Upper Volta (today Burkina Faso) in an event sometimes referred to as the August revolution (French: Révolution d'août) or Burkinabé revolution. It was carried out by radical elements of the army led by Thomas Sankara and Blaise Compaoré, against the regime of Major Jean-Baptiste Ouédraogo. Ouédraogo had been brought to power in a 1982 coup with the Conseil de Salut du Peuple (CSP), a body composed of military officials of different ideological backgrounds. The CSP chose Sankara as Prime Minister of Upper Volta in January 1983. As his tenure progressed, Ouédraogo found himself unable to reconcile the conservative and radical factions of the CSP, whose disagreements were leading to a political stalemate. On 16 May he purged his government of pro-Libyan and anti-French elements, disbanded the CSP, and had Sankara and several other important officials arrested. This move sparked discontent among Sankara's supporters. Sankara was eventually released while one officer, Compaoré, began to organise military resistance to the government.

Tensions continued to increase until 4 August when Compaoré launched a coup, leading 250 paratroopers in a march on the capital, Ouagadougou. Sankara attempted to broker a political compromise with Ouédraogo, but Compaoré's troops seized the city before this was done and captured Ouédraogo. Sankara became the new President of Upper Volta and created the Conseil National de la Revolution (CNR), a new governing body consisting mostly of populist junior officers.

The 1987 Burkina Faso coup d'état was a bloody military coup in Burkina Faso, which took place on 15 October 1987. The coup was organized by Captain Blaise Compaoré against incumbent far-left President Captain Thomas Sankara, his former friend, bandmate, and associate during the 1983 upheaval.

Compaoré has never acknowledged that a coup had taken place and claims to be a Sankara loyalist.

The 1989 Burkina Faso coup d'état attempt was allegedly an attempt at a military coup d'état, planned by Jean-Baptiste Boukary Lingani and Henri Zongo, in addition to other unnamed conspirators. The plot, as described by the government of Burkina Faso, targeted President Blaise Compaoré – who, together with Lingani and Zongo, had previously carried out two coups in the country. All known conspirators were quickly executed.

The 2015 Burkina Faso coup attempt was a failed coup d'état launched on 16 September 2015 in Burkina Faso, when members of the Regiment of Presidential Security (RSP) – a controversial autonomous military unit, formed under President Blaise Compaoré – detained the country's government. Among those detained were the transitional President Michel Kafando, Prime Minister Yacouba Isaac Zida (who was also the former deputy commander of the RSP), and numerous members of the cabinet. This transitional government was formed in the wake of the 2014 Burkinabé uprising, when a popular movement overthrew the long-time president Compaoré, who himself had come to power in a 1987 coup against the left-wing leader Thomas Sankara. New general elections were planned for 11 October 2015.

The RSP was successful in seizing control of Ouagadougou and proclaimed the establishment of a new junta, headed by General Gilbert Diendéré, to oversee the transition to new elections. The coup leaders denounced the transitional government's electoral law, which barred supporters of Compaoré from participating in the elections, and promised to allow all prospective candidates to run. However, the junta failed to consolidate its authority across the country, and faced protests as well as intense pressure from regional leaders, and eventually from the regular army, to restore the transitional government. Ultimately, after the regular army entered Ouagadougou to confront the RSP, Kafando was restored as president on 23 September 2015.

Tout-à-Coup Jazz was a musical group formed in the Republic of Upper Volta (today Burkina Faso) in the 1970s, during the military rule of Colonel General Sangoulé Lamizana. In French, tout à coup is an adverb meaning "suddenly" or "out of the blue". As the name indicates, the band played jazz, and is said to have been relatively popular. The band included Captain Thomas Sankara on guitar and his close friend, Captain Blaise Compaoré, on the microphone.

Sankara, a Marxist, pan-Africanist, and war veteran, met Blaise Compaoré in 1976 when they were stationed in Morocco. Sankara was taught guitar as a child by Pascal Ouédraogo Kayouré, who called him a "disciplined student" whose real passion was music. In 2015 Abdoulaye Cisse (who noted that Sankara was a skilled musician whereas "Compaoré just sang") stated that while the band had more rehearsals than concerts, every performance was magical. In 1983, Compaoré led a military coup against Major Jean-Baptiste Ouédraogo, placing his Sankara as President of Upper Volta.

Major Jean-Baptiste Boukary Lingani was an officer of Army of the Republic of Upper Volta (today Burkina Faso) executed on September 19, 1989, along with Henri Zongo by Blaise Compaoré who accused them of plotting a coup. Lingani was set by Laurent Sédego, Gilbert Diendéré, Hermann Yaméogo, Issa Tiendrébeogo and his cousin Alain Ouilma of national safety department.

Henri Zongo (died 19 September 1989) was a Burkinabé politician and military officer. He served as a key figure in the country's history after decolonisation: Zongo was involved in two successful coup d'états and accused of being the conspirator of a third that led to his execution.

Zongo, Thomas Sankara, Jean-Baptiste Boukary Lingani and Blaise Compaoré formed the inner core of a military group that launched the 1983 coup d'état that brought Sankara to power as president. Zongo was appointed as the Minister of Economic Promotion on 4 August 1983, a role he served until his death. Zongo also served as the Sports Minister of Upper Volta; he called for an African boycott of the 1984 Summer Olympics to protest against Britain's sporting links with South Africa, whose apartheid rule institutionalised racial segregation.

The Presidential Security Regiment (French: Régiment de la sécurité présidentielle, RSP) was an elite praetorian guard unit responsible for the security and protection of the President of Burkina Faso. It was an independent branch and separate from the Army of Burkina Faso.

The elite unit was well known for its frequent involvement in the politics of Burkina Faso, acting as the iron fist of former President Blaise Compaoré during his 27-year rule over the country. They were said to be widely feared by many people in the country, which in 2012 – two years prior to the overthrow of Compaoré's government – was described by the Democracy Index as an "authoritarian regime".

Michel Kafando (born 18 August 1942) is a Burkinabé diplomat and politician, who served as Interim President of Burkina Faso from 2014 to 2015. He previously served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1982 to 1983 and as Permanent Representative of Burkina Faso to the United Nations from 1998 to 2011.

Following the resignation of President Blaise Compaoré amidst the 2014 Burkinabé uprising, Kafando was chosen by the interim military administration until the next elections. Kafando was briefly ousted in the September 2015 coup attempt by the Regiment of Presidential Security, but he ultimately restored power within a week and disbanded the regiment. Elections took place shortly thereafter, and Kafando was succeeded by Roch Marc Christian Kaboré in December 2015.