Early Life and Education
President Ibrahim Traoré was born on the 14 of March 1988 in Kèra, Bondokuy, a small town in Burkina Faso’s second city – Bobo Dioulasso.
Traoré started his primary education in his hometown in Kere, Bondokuy. He later attended a high school in Bobo-Dioulasso, where he completed his high school education.
Traoré’s primary and high school teachers said Traoré was “quiet” and “very talented.”
Upon completion of his senior high school education, Traoré relocated to the capital, Ouagadougu, in 2006, where he studied at the University of Ouagadougou. He studied Geology.
He was part of the Association of Muslim Students and the Marxist Association nationale des étudiants du Burkina (ANEB).
During his time at the University of Ouagadougou, Traoré became known for defending his classmates in disputes.
Traoré completed his undergraduate study in 2010. He graduated from the university with honors.
Military Career
He joined the army at the age of 22, just after his undergraduate studies.
He was sent to Morocco for anti-aircraft training before being transferred to an infantry unit in Kaya, a town in northern Burkina Faso
In 2012, Traoré graduated from the Georges Namoano Military Academy, a military training school for the Burkinabe armed forces.
He graduated as a second lieutenant and served as a peacekeeper in the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission to Mali (Minusma), a United Nations peacekeeping force involved in the Mali War.
Traoré was one of the MINUSMA soldiers who showed courage during major rebel attacks in the Tombouctou Region
He was promoted to lieutenant in 2014.
Traoré took part in peacekeeping missions in northern Burkina Faso as part of a special counterterrorism unit.
He fought in several other counter-insurgency operations in northern Burkina Faso.
In 2020, at the age of 32, he was promoted to the rank of Captain.
Rise To Power
As a soldier, it became clear to Traoré that something needs to be done in Burkina Faso. He became tired by the lack of equipment soldiers like him faced while politicians kept embezzling the country’s resources.
Traoré, fed up by this corrupt practices by his country’s politicians, started to voice out his dissatisfaction towards the corrupt and inept system.
He became the spokesman for soldiers stationed in the North who were frustrated over their government’s ineffectivness.
In January 2022, a new dawn of political powers came. A group of army officers, with Traoré part of, led a coup d’ètat against the government of President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré.
The coup leader, Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, was appointed Interim President of Burkina Faso after a successful coup. He assigned Traoré as the head of an artillery regiment in Kaya.
Damiba’ tenure in power was cut short by Traoré after citizens of Burkina Faso and many supporters of the coup became dissatisfied with the government of Damiba, especially with the handling of the jihadist insurgency in the country.
According to sources close to Traoré, Traoré had tried to get Damiba to “refocus” on the rebellion, but he refused. This eventually led to Traoré overthrowing Damiba him as “his [Damiba’s] ambitions were diverting away from what we set out to do,” said Traoré.
Traoré and some of his colleagues launched a coup on 30 September 2022 and overthrew Damiba.
Traoré was chosen as the new head of the Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration. The month after, on 6 October, he assumed the position of Interim President as “Head of State, Supreme Head of the Armed Forces.”
He became the youngest president in the world.
Assassination Attempts
Since he became the President of Burkina Faso, President Ibrahim Traoré has survived 16 assassination attempts.
This, according to many Pan-Africanists, was largely due to his anti-imperialism and anti-neocolonialism policies. As president, he has cut ties with France, Ukraine, ECOWAS, Denmark, suspended the BBC and Voice of America, and drove the United States military out of Burkina Faso.
Achievements As President
Since he became the president of Burkina Faso, President Ibrahim Traoré has achieved the unimaginable within just two years.
1. Burkina Faso’s GDP grew from approximately $18.8 billion to $22.1 billion.
2. He has rejected loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. He said, “Africa doesn’t need the World Bank, IMF, Europe, or America.”
3. He reduced the salaries of ministers and parliamentarians by 30% and increased the salaries of civil servants by 50%.
4. He paid off Burkina Faso’s local debts.
5. He established two tomato processing plants, the first-ever in Burkina Faso.
6. In 2023, he inaugurated a state-of-the-art gold mine to enhance local processing capabilities.
7. He stopped the export of unrefined Burkina Faso gold to Europe.
8. He built Burkina Faso’s second cotton processing plant. Previously, the country had only one.
9. He opened the first-ever National Support Center for Artisanal Cotton Processing to assist local cotton farmers.
10. He banned the wearing of British legal wigs and gowns in local courts and introduced traditional Burkinabé attire.
11. He prioritized agriculture by distributing over 400 tractors, 239 tillers, 710 motor pumps, and 714 motorcycles to boost production and support rural stakeholders.
12. He provided access to improved seeds and other farm inputs to maximize agricultural output.
13. Tomato production in Burkina Faso increased from 315,000 metric tonnes in 2022 to 360,000 metric tonnes in 2024.
14. Millet production rose from 907,000 metric tonnes in 2022 to 1.1 million metric tonnes in 2024.
15. Rice production increased from 280,000 metric tonnes in 2022 to 326,000 metric tonnes in 2024.
16. He banned French military operations in Burkina Faso.
17. He banned French media in Burkina Faso.
18. He expelled French troops from Burkina Faso.
19. His government is constructing new roads, widening existing ones, and upgrading gravel roads to paved surfaces.
20. He is building a new airport, the Ouagadougou-Donsin Airport, which is expected to be completed in 2025 with a capacity to handle 1 million passengers annually.