1982 Upper Voltan coup d'état the "Burkinabé Revolution", a process in which Sankara and his new junta attempted to radically transform Upper Volta – soon renamed "Burkina Faso" – according to left-wing revolutionary principles. Sankara would himself be overthrown in 1987 by his old friend Compaoré, who remained in power until the 2014 Burkinabé uprising. 1982 Upper Voltan coup d'état The 1982 Upper Voltan coup d'état took place in the Republic of Upper Volta (today Burkina Faso) on 7 November 1982. The coup, led by the little-known Colonel Gabriel Yoryan Somé and a slew of other junior officers within the military, many of them political
French Upper Volta Mossi renewed their pressure for separate territorial status and on 4 September 1947, Upper Volta became a French West African territory again in its own right. A revision in the organisation of French overseas territories began with the passage of the Basic Law (Loi Cadre) of 23 July 1956. This act was followed by reorganisational measures approved by the French parliament early in 1957 that ensured a large degree of self-government for individual territories. Upper Volta became an autonomous republic in the French community on 11 December 1958. Upper Volta achieved independence on 5 August 1960. The first president, Maurice