Roch Marc Christian Kaboré
Roch Marc Christian Kaboré (born 25 April 1957) is a Burkinabé politician who has served as the President of Burkina Faso since 2015. 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 also served as 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.
Roch Marc Christian Kaboré | |
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Kaboré at the 2018 Munich Security Conference | |
President of Burkina Faso | |
Assumed office 29 December 2015 | |
Prime Minister | Paul Kaba Thieba Christophe Joseph Marie Dabiré |
Preceded by | Michel Kafando (Transitional) |
2nd Prime Minister of Burkina Faso | |
In office 22 March 1994 – 6 February 1996 | |
President | Blaise Compaoré |
Preceded by | Youssouf Ouédraogo |
Succeeded by | Kadré Désiré Ouedraogo |
Personal details | |
Born | Ouagadougou, French Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso) | 25 April 1957
Political party | Organization for Popular Democracy – Labour Movement (Before 1996) Congress for Democracy and Progress (1996–2014) People's Movement for Progress (2014–present) |
Spouse(s) | Sika Bella Kaboré (m. 1982) |
Children | 3 |
Alma mater | University of Burgundy |
Website | Official Website |
Kaboré was elected as President of Burkina Faso 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.
Early years
Kaboré was born in Ouagadougou, the capital city of Burkina Faso, then called Upper Volta. He is the son of Bila Charles Kabore, former government minister and former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO). He attended primary school from 1962 to 1968, when he received his CPS (Certificate of Primary School). On completing this basic education certificate, he attended the Collège Saint Jean-Baptiste de la Salle, a selective school in Ouagadougou. He studied there from 1968 to 1975, passing his BEPC or General Certificate ('O' Level) in 1972 and his baccalauréat ('A' level) in 1975. He went on to study economics at the University of Dijon, majoring in business administration. There, he completed his BA in 1979 and his Master's in 1980.[1]
Kaboré met his future wife, Sika Bella Kaboré, while both were studying in France.[2] The couple married in 1982 and have three children.[2]
Career
Banking career
Kaboré, like his father, Charles Bila Kaboré (who was a government minister under President Maurice Yaméogo), worked as a banker for the International Bank of Burkina (BIB).[3] He was eventually promoted to head Burkina Faso's largest bank during the presidency of Thomas Sankara.[3] In 1984, aged 27, he was named the General Director of the BIB; he remained in that post until September 1989, when he was appointed to the government.[4]
Political career
He served in the government of Burkina Faso as a Minister, was a Special Adviser of the President, and has been a Deputy in the National Assembly.[5] He became Prime Minister in 1994. When the Congress for Democracy and Progress was formed in early February 1996, Kaboré resigned as Prime Minister and became the new ruling party's First Vice-President, as well as Special Adviser at the Presidency.[6]
On 6 June 2002, he was elected as President of the National Assembly of Burkina Faso, succeeding Mélégué Maurice Traoré.[7]
Function | Period |
---|---|
Minister of Transports and Communications | 21 September 1989 |
Minister of State | 16 February 1992 |
Member of the Parliament Representing of the Kadiogo Region for the ODP/MT (now the CDP Party) | 24 May 1992 |
Minister of State for Finance and Plan[8] | From 19 June 1992 to 3 September 1993 |
Minister of State | From 3 September 1993 to 20 March 1994 |
Prime Minister | 20 March 1994 |
Special Advisor of the President of Burkina Faso | From February 1996 to June 1997 |
Elected as a member of the National Assembly for the CDP Party | 11 May 1997 |
Elected as the National Secretary of the CDP Party | August 1999 |
Elected as President of the National Assembly | 6 June 2002[7] |
Elected President of the CDP Party | August 2003 |
Elected President of Burkina Faso | November 2015 |
In the May 2007 parliamentary election, Kaboré was re-elected to the National Assembly as the first candidate on the CDP's national list. Following the election, the National Assembly again elected Kaboré as its president. He received 90 votes, while Norbert Tiendrébéogo received 13; there were seven invalid votes.[9]
Resignation from the CDP
Kaboré, along with a number of other prominent figures in the CDP, announced his resignation from the party on 6 January 2014. Those who resigned said that the party was being run in an undemocratic and damaging manner, and they expressed opposition to plans to amend the constitution to eliminate term limits, which would allow President Blaise Compaoré to stand for re-election in 2015.[10] On 25 January 2014, a new opposition party led by Kaboré, the People's Movement for Progress (Mouvement du Peuple pour le Progrès, MPP), was founded.[11][12]
Presidency
At an MPP convention held at the Ouagadougou Palais des Sports on 4–5 July 2015, Kaboré was officially confirmed as the MPP candidate for the presidential elections due to be held on 29 November 2015.[13][14]
In the election of 29 November 2015, Kaboré won the election in the first round of voting, receiving 53.5% of the vote against 29.7% for the second place candidate, Zephirin Diabré.[15] He was sworn in as President on 29 December 2015.[16] He appointed Paul Kaba Thieba, an economist, as Prime Minister on 7 January 2016.[17] The composition of the new government was announced on 13 January, with Kaboré personally taking charge of the ministerial portfolio for defense and veteran affairs.[18] Jean-Claude Bouda, who previously served as Minister of Youth, was appointed on 20 February 2017 to take over from Kaboré as Minister of Defense.[19][20]
He was reelected to a second term on 22 November 2020 with 57.74% of the vote.[21]
References
- An.bf Archived 28 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- Roger, Benjamin (9 December 2015). "Burkina : qui est Sika Bella Kaboré, la nouvelle première dame du Faso?". Jeune Afrique. Archived from the original on 18 April 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
- Allafrica,com, Editorial:Burkina Faso: The "People's Victory" – President-Elect Kaboré and the Democratic Road Ahead for Burkina Faso, By Brian J. Peterson is Associate Professor of History, Union College, New York, 4 December 2015
- "Petiteacademie.gov.bf". Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
- "Africatime.com". Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
- "Feb 1996 – New government – Transformation of ruling party", Keesing's Record of World Events, volume 42, February 1996, Burkina, page 40,937.
- "RAPPORT DE LA MISSION D'OBSERVATION DE L'ÉLECTION PRÉSIDENTIELLE DU 13 NOVEMBRE 2005" (PDF) (in French). Democratie.francophonie.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 June 2007.
- "Ministre". Ministère des finances.
- List of candidates elected to the National Assembly in 2007, National Assembly website (in French).
- "Burkina: vague de démissions au sein du parti de Compaoré", Agence France-Presse, 6 January 2014 (in French).
- "Roch Marc Christian Kaboré à la tête d'un nouveau parti d'opposition", Jeune Afrique, 26 January 2014 (in French).
- "Blaise wants compromise", Africa Confidential, volume 55, number 3, 7 February 2014.
- "Burkina: R.M. Christian Kaboré investi candidat pour la présidentielle", Radio France Internationale, 6 July 2015 (in French).
- "Burkina Faso: Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, MPP's presidential candidate for 2015 elections", The Africa Report, 8 July 2015.
- Mathieu Bonkoungou and Nadoun Coulibaly, "Kabore wins Burkina Faso presidential election", Reuters, 1 December 2015.
- "Burkina Faso swears in new president, capping transition", Agence France-Presse, 29 December 2015.
- "Burkina Faso's president names economist as prime minister", Reuters, 7 January 2016.
- "Burkina Faso president takes defence portfolio in new cabinet", Agence France-Presse, 13 January 2016.
- "Burkina Faso president steps down from defence portfolio", Africanews, 21 February 2017.
- Nadoun Coulibaly, "Burkina : Roch Marc Christian Kaboré retouche son gouvernement", Jeune Afrique, 21 February 2017 (in French).
- Presse, AFP-Agence France (28 December 2020). "Burkina President Vows Push For Security At Inauguration". www.barrons.com. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
External links
- Media related to Roch Marc Christian Kaboré at Wikimedia Commons
Political offices | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by Youssouf Ouédraogo |
Prime Minister of Burkina Faso 1994–1996 |
Succeeded by Kadré Désiré Ouedraogo |
Preceded by Michel Kafando Transitional |
President of Burkina Faso 2015–present |
Incumbent |