List of heads of state of Burkina Faso in the context of Sangoulé Lamizana

Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km (105,878 sq mi). In 2024, the country had an estimated population of approximately 23,286,000. Called the Republic of Upper Volta from 1958 to 1984, it was renamed Burkina Faso by president Thomas Sankara. Its citizens are known as Burkinabes, and its capital and largest city is Ouagadougou.

The largest ethnic group in Burkina Faso is the Mossi people, who settled the area in the 11th and 13th centuries. They established kingdoms such as Ouagadougou, Tenkodogo, and Yatenga. In 1896, it was colonized by the French as part of French West Africa; in 1958, Upper Volta became a self-governing colony within the French Community. In 1960, it gained full independence with Maurice Yaméogo as president. Since it gained its independence, the country has been subject to instability, droughts, famines, and corruption. There have also been various coups, in 1966, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1987, and twice in 2022 (January and September). There were also unsuccessful coup attempts in 1989, 2015, and 2023.

Thomas Isidore Noël Sankara (21 December 1949 – 15 October 1987) was a Burkinabé military officer, Marxist and Pan-Africanist revolutionary who served as the President of Burkina Faso from 1983, following his takeover in a coup, until his assassination in 1987.

After Sankara was appointed Prime Minister of the Republic of Upper Volta in 1983, he had political disputes with the sitting government that resulted in his eventual imprisonment. While he was under house arrest, a group of revolutionaries seized power on his behalf in a popular coup later that year.

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.

Jean-Baptiste Philippe Ouédraogo (French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃ batist filip wedʁaɔɡo]; born 30 June 1942), also referred to by his initials JBO, is a Burkinabé physician and retired military officer who served as President of Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso) from 8 November 1982 to 4 August 1983. He has since mediated a few national political disputes and operates a clinic in Somgandé.

Ouédraogo received his early education in Upper Volta before joining the Upper Voltan Army and studying medicine abroad. After working in healthcare, he was appointed chief medical officer of the Ouagadougou military camp. He participated in the November 1982 coup d'état and shortly thereafter assumed the presidency. More ideologically moderate than most of his comrades, Ouédraogo did not command much popular support and governed the country amid an unstable political climate. He was for private ownership of businesses. A protracted dispute with Prime Minister Thomas Sankara resulted in his removal from power in a coup in August 1983 and imprisonment. He was released in 1985 and resumed medical work. He opened a clinic in Somgandé in 1992, which he still operates. In the 2010s, he acted as a mediator between opposing political factions.

Roch Marc Christian Kaboré (French pronunciation: [ʁɔk maʁk kʁistjɑ̃ kabɔʁe]; born 25 April 1957) is a Burkinabé banker and politician who served as the President of Burkina Faso from 2015 until he was deposed in 2022. He was the Prime Minister of Burkina Faso between 1994 and 1996 and President of the National Assembly of Burkina Faso from 2002 to 2012. Kaboré was also president of the Congress for Democracy and Progress (CDP) until his departure from the party in 2014. He founded the People's Movement for Progress party that same year.

Kaboré was elected president in the November 2015 general election, winning a majority in the first round of voting. Upon taking office, he became the first non-interim president in 49 years without any past ties to the military. Kaboré worked as a banker prior to his political career.

Ibrahim Traoré (French: [ibʁaim tʁaɔʁe]; born 14 March 1988) is a Burkinabé military officer who has served as the interim President of Burkina Faso since 2022. Ideologically prominent for his nationalist, pan-Africanist, anti-Western politics, and anti-imperialist views as well as his charismatic leadership and appeal to young people, Traoré has also served as the second leader of the Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration, the ruling military junta in Burkina Faso, since September 2022.

Born in Kéra, located in western Burkina Faso, Traoré graduated from the University of Ouagadougou in 2009 with a bachelor's degree in science and geology. Following his graduation from university, he joined the Burkina Faso Armed Forces and received military training abroad, reportedly in Morocco and France. Traoré gained experience fighting terrorism during the country's jihadist insurgency. In 2019, he was deployed to Mali with the United Nations peacekeeping mission (MINUSMA).

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".