Saye Zerbo

Saye Zerbo (born August 27, 1932 in Tougan ; † September 19, 2013 ) was Head of State and Government of Upper Volta , today's Burkina Faso , from 1980 to 1982 .

soldier

Zerbo came from the Samo province in the west of the country. He went to school in Mali and Saint-Louis in Senegal . He then joined the French army and was trained at the Saint-Cyr Military Academy. As a paratrooper he took part in the Indochina War and the Algerian War. After Obervolta gained independence from France on August 5, 1960, he joined the army in 1961 .

Politician

In the military government of President Sangoulé Lamizana , who had ruled since 1966 , he was Foreign Minister from 1974 to 1976 . Other functions were regimental commander in the capital Ouagadougou and head of the military intelligence service . On November 25, 1980, he overthrew Lamizana, who had been confirmed in office in a democratic election in May 1978, in a coup and took over the position of head of state and government himself. The constitution introduced in 1977 was suspended and the Comité Militaire de Redressement pour le Progrès National (CMPRN) was established. The unions that had supported Lamizana for a while opposed his takeover . Another coup on November 7, 1982 ended his term. His successor was Dr. Jean-Baptiste Ouédraogo as head of the Military Council Conseil du Salut du Peuple (CSP).

Further career

After his fall, Zerbo was imprisoned. Ouédraogo was overthrown on August 4, 1983 by Thomas Sankara and in May 1984 the former heads of state Lamizana and Zerbo were brought to justice for various offenses during their term in office. Zerbo received fifteen years in prison. During his detention, he converted from Islam to Christianity . He was released from prison in August 1985. Sankara lost office and life on October 15, 1987 in the next coup led by his previous follower Blaise Compaoré . This occasionally asked Zerbos for advice. The verdict of the "People's Tribunal" from 1984 was overturned on February 18, 1997 by the Supreme Court on appeal. Zerbo lived on his pension as a colonel and former head of state until his death .

family

Zerbo's third daughter, Araba Kadiatou Zerbo, is married to former Prime Minister Paramanga Ernest Yonli .

literature

Fischer Weltalmanach - Biographies on Contemporary History since 1945 , Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag 1985, ISBN 3-596-24553-2

Web links

• Official site: The Governments of Burkina Faso with section on Zerbo ( Memento of November 21, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) (French)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Décès du président Saye Zerbo: les Burkinabè pleurent "un grand homme d'Etat"