1982 Upper Voltan coup d'état 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 radicals, overthrew the regime of Colonel Saye Zerbo. Zerbo had previously taken power just under two years prior to his own downfall. Upper Volta, formerly a colony of France, had gone through several coups since independence in 1960. In 1966, the single-party dictatorship of President Maurice Yaméogo had been ended
Burkina Faso self-government for individual territories. Upper Volta became an autonomous republic in the French community on 11 December 1958. Full independence from France was received in 1960. The Republic of Upper Volta () was established on 11 December 1958 as a self-governing colony within the French Community. The name "Upper Volta" related to the nation's location along the upper reaches of the Volta River. The river's three tributaries are called the Black, White and Red Volta. These were expressed in the three colors of the former national flag. Before attaining autonomy, it had been French Upper Volta and part of the