Attended military secondary school, 1966-69; became part of the national Parachute Regiment of Upper Volta; began training in officer school in Madagascar, 1970; fought in border war between Upper Volta and Mali, 1974; became commander of the Commando Training Center, 1976; met Blaise Compaore in Morocco, 1978; formed "Popular Republic" in Commando Training Center with Compaore; appointed secretary to the president in charge of information, 1981; imprisoned to await court-martial, 1982; named prime minister by new regime under Jean-Baptiste Ouedraogo, 1982; accused of treason and imprisoned, 1983; became head of Upper Volta government after coup, 1983; changed name of Upper Volta to Burkina Faso, 1984; put down coup attempt, 1984; led country in short border war with Mali, 1985; attempted to initiate major reforms in agriculture, income distribution, and equality of rights for women; forged ties with other Marxist states such as Cuba, Angola, and Nicaragua; was assassinated in capital city of Ouagadougou, 1987, at age 37.
"Africa's Che Guevara"“
Che Guevara taught us we could dare to have confidence in ourselves, confidence in our abilities. He instilled in us the conviction that struggle is our only recourse. He, was a citizen of the free world that together we are in the process of building. That is why we say that Che Guevara is also African and Burkinabè.
Sankara, who is often referred to as "Africa's Che Guevara",[1] emulated Guevara (1928–1967) in both style and substance. Stylistically, Sankara emulated Guevara by preferring to wear a starred beret and military fatigues, living ascetically with few possessions, and keeping a minimal salary once assuming power. Both men also considered themselves allies of Fidel Castro (Sankara was visited by Castro in 1987), spoke fluent French, are well known for having ridden motorcycles, and are often cited as effectively utilizing their charisma to motivate their followers. Substantively, Guevara and Sankara were both Marxist revolutionaries, who believed in armed revolution against imperialism and monopoly capitalism, denounced financial neo-colonialism before the United Nations, held up agrarian land reform and literacy campaigns as key parts of their agenda, and utilized revolutionary tribunals and CDR's against counter-revolutionaries. Both men were also murdered in their late thirties (Guevara 39 / Sankara 38) by opponents, with Sankara coincidentally giving a speech marking and honoring the 20th anniversary of Che Guevara's October 9, 1967 execution, one week before his own assassination on October 15, 1987
