Ibrahim Traoré

Ibrahim Traoré (French pronunciation: [ibʁaim tʁaɔʁe]; born 14 March 1988) is a Burkinabé military officer and politician who has served as the interim President of Burkina Faso since 2022. Traoré took control of Burkina Faso in September 2022, ousting interim president Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba in a coup d’état. Aged 37, he is currently the second-youngest head of state in the world. During his tenure, Traoré has sought to distance the country from its former colonial power, France, and played an instrumental role in founding the Alliance of Sahel States.

Early life
Ibrahim Traoré was born in Kéra, Bondokuy, Mouhoun Province, on 14 March 1988. After receiving his primary education in Bondokuy, he attended a high school in Bobo-Dioulasso, the second-largest city in Burkina Faso, where he was known as being “quiet” and “very talented”.From 2006, he studied geology at the University of Ouagadougou. He was part of the Association of Muslim Students and the Marxist National Association of Students of Burkina Faso (ANEB). In the latter, he rose to delegate and became known for defending his classmates in disputes. He graduated from the university with honours

Rise to power
Traoré was part of the group of army officers that supported the January 2022 Burkina Faso coup d’état and brought the Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration military junta to power.[5][4] From March 2022, he served as the head of an artillery regiment in Kaya. Whether he was ever associated with the “Cobra” special forces, a counterterrorist unit founded in 2019, is disputed. According to the BBC, Al Jazeera, and Die Tageszeitung, he was part of the unit at some point.[10][3][11] However, news magazine Jeune Afrique stated that he was never associated with the “Cobras”.

Many supporters of the January coup became dissatisfied with the performance of Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, the junta’s leader, regarding his inability to contain the jihadist insurgency. Traoré later said that he and other officers had tried to get Damiba to “refocus” on the rebellion, but eventually opted to overthrow him as “his ambitions were diverting away from what we set out to do”. The dissatisfaction about the situation was highest among younger officers who fought against the rebels at the frontlines.In addition, there were delays in pay for the “Cobra” troops.

When the plotters launched their coup on 30 September, Traoré still held the rank of Captain. The operation was carried out with support of the “Cobra” unit. In the direct aftermath of the coup, Traoré was chosen as the new head of the Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration.On 6 October, he also assumed the position of Interim President as “Head of State, Supreme Head of the Armed Forces”. He initially promised to hold democratic elections in July 2024.