Republic of Upper Volta

The Republic of Upper Volta (République de Haute-Volta) was a landlocked West African country established on 11 December 1958 as a self-governing state within the French Community. 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. On 4 August 1984, it changed its name to Burkina Faso. The name Upper Volta indicated that the country contains the upper part of the Volta River. 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 with five-year terms. Shortly after coming to power, Yaméogo banned all political parties other than the UDV-RDA. He had shown a deep authoritarian streak even before then, however; between the time he became prime minister of Upper Volta while it was still a French colony and independence two years later, opposition parties were subjected to increased harassment. On 3 January 1966, Yaméogo was overthrown in a coup d'état led by army chief of staff 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 then came to power through a military coup d'état on 4 August 1983. 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". From 1958 to 1960, the Republic of Upper Volta was led by a high commissioner: Max Berthet (11 December 1958 to February 1959), Paul Masson (February 1959 to 5 August 1960).