President of the National Assembly during the coup d'état of Saye Zerbo on November 25, 1980, he was imprisoned several times under the dictatorships of Saye Zerbo, Thomas Sankara and Blaise Compaore. Since the easing of the regime presided over by the latter head of state in the early 1990s, he was elected twice as MP under the Fourth Republic, before resigning on May 27, 1998. Shortly thereafter, the African Democratic Rally appointed honorary president for life.