Aboubakar Sangoulé Lamizana (31 January 1916 – 26 May 2005) was an Upper Voltese military officer who served as the President of Upper Volta (since 1984 renamed Burkina Faso), in power from 3 January 1966, to 25 November 1980. He held the additional position of Prime Minister from 8 February 1974, to 7 July 1978.
After Upper Volta achieved complete independence from the French Union in 1960, opposition parties either merged with the governing party, Union démocratique voltaïque (UDV), or were banned, transforming Upper Volta into a single party state, headed by Maurice Yaméogo as President. Yaméogo's one-party regime elicited much unrest; student strikes and mass demonstrations by students, labor unions, and civil servants. Yaméogo was forced to resign after a general strike and a military coup on 3 January 1966, giving power to General Sangoulé Lamizana on the demonstrators' demand.
Lamizana served as nominal head of a "provisional military government" until a new Constitution, ratified on 14 June 1970, provided for a four-year transition to fully civilian elected leadership; he was also foreign minister from 1966 to 1967. Elections under the new Constitution delivered a clear majority of the assembly to the UDV.
In the early 1970s the effect of a five-year drought and increasing desertification in the Sahel brought the threat of famine to several nations including Upper Volta. The resulting economic dislocation encouraged factionalism in the government, headed by Gérard Kango Ouédraogo, the prime minister who had been appointed by Lamizana. Again military intervention and dissolution of the assembly brought Lamizana back in control, essentially now as dictator.
Lamizana's regime had international recognition and visited with U.S. President Richard Nixon.[1] On 15 October 1973 Lamizana met with President Nixon and briefed him on the Sahel drought in the Oval Office.[2] Lamizana explained that he represented himself and the other Sahel governments and hoped to secure aid during the famine and drought. Nixon promised to provide as much help as he could.
His personal party following was styled the National Movement for Renewal, although that became a short-lived formation. A new Constitution was written and approved in a referendum in 1977, and Lamizana was reelected in open elections in 1978; this election is generally considered as being among the most democratic ever held in West Africa. Later Lamizana joined UDV.
With the support of unions and civil groups, Col. Saye Zerbo overthrew Lamizana in a bloodless military coup in November 1980.
sangoulé, lamizana, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, july, 2. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Sangoule Lamizana news newspapers books scholar JSTOR July 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message Aboubakar Sangoule Lamizana 31 January 1916 26 May 2005 was an Upper Voltese military officer who served as the President of Upper Volta since 1984 renamed Burkina Faso in power from 3 January 1966 to 25 November 1980 He held the additional position of Prime Minister from 8 February 1974 to 7 July 1978 Sangoule Lamizana2nd President of Upper VoltaIn office 3 January 1966 25 November 1980Prime MinisterGerard Kango OuedraogoHimselfJoseph ConomboSaye ZerboPreceded byMaurice YameogoSucceeded bySaye Zerbo2nd Prime Minister of Upper VoltaIn office 8 February 1974 7 July 1978PresidentHimselfPreceded byGerard Kango OuedraogoSucceeded byJoseph ConomboPersonal detailsBorn 1916 01 31 31 January 1916Dianra French Upper VoltaDied26 May 2005 2005 05 26 aged 89 Ouagadougou Burkina FasoPolitical partyIndependentChildrenMariam LamizanaSignature Contents 1 Biography 2 See also 3 References 4 External linksBiography EditAfter Upper Volta achieved complete independence from the French Union in 1960 opposition parties either merged with the governing party Union democratique voltaique UDV or were banned transforming Upper Volta into a single party state headed by Maurice Yameogo as President Yameogo s one party regime elicited much unrest student strikes and mass demonstrations by students labor unions and civil servants Yameogo was forced to resign after a general strike and a military coup on 3 January 1966 giving power to General Sangoule Lamizana on the demonstrators demand Lamizana served as nominal head of a provisional military government until a new Constitution ratified on 14 June 1970 provided for a four year transition to fully civilian elected leadership he was also foreign minister from 1966 to 1967 Elections under the new Constitution delivered a clear majority of the assembly to the UDV In the early 1970s the effect of a five year drought and increasing desertification in the Sahel brought the threat of famine to several nations including Upper Volta The resulting economic dislocation encouraged factionalism in the government headed by Gerard Kango Ouedraogo the prime minister who had been appointed by Lamizana Again military intervention and dissolution of the assembly brought Lamizana back in control essentially now as dictator Lamizana s regime had international recognition and visited with U S President Richard Nixon 1 On 15 October 1973 Lamizana met with President Nixon and briefed him on the Sahel drought in the Oval Office 2 Lamizana explained that he represented himself and the other Sahel governments and hoped to secure aid during the famine and drought Nixon promised to provide as much help as he could His personal party following was styled the National Movement for Renewal although that became a short lived formation A new Constitution was written and approved in a referendum in 1977 and Lamizana was reelected in open elections in 1978 this election is generally considered as being among the most democratic ever held in West Africa Later Lamizana joined UDV With the support of unions and civil groups Col Saye Zerbo overthrew Lamizana in a bloodless military coup in November 1980 See also Edit1966 Upper Voltan coup d etatReferences Edit Burkina Faso Visits by Foreign Leaders Department History Office of the Historian history state gov Retrieved 26 April 2018 File Nixon Upper Volta President Lamizana October 15 1973 Gerald Ford Library 1552621 pdfExternal links EditKenneth Janda Political Parties A Cross National Survey Upper Volta Burkina Faso brief historyPolitical officesPreceded byMaurice Yameogo President of Upper Volta1966 1980 Succeeded bySaye ZerboPreceded byGerard Kango Ouedraogo Prime Minister of Upper Volta1974 1978 Succeeded byJoseph Conombo Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Sangoule Lamizana amp oldid 1168832723, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
