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Ibrahim Traoré – Burkina Faso President & Career Soldier – A short biography

A short biography of Ibrahim Traoré, Africa’s youngest head of state and a career soldier, who grew up in a small village in Burkina Faso to become president at 34.

Ibrahim Traoré was born on 14 March 1988 in Kera village, Bondokuy, in the Mouhoun Province of Burkina Faso.

Traoré completed his primary education in Bondokuy and attended high school in Bobo-Dioulasso before studying for a degree in geology at the University of Ouagadougou.

In 2009, Traoré joined the Burkina Faso Armed Forces as a cadet at the Georges Namonao Military Academy in Poa, a city in southern Burkina Faso.

After receiving anti-aircraft training in Morocco, the young Traoré was transferred to an infantry unit in Kaya, a town in northern Burkina Faso.

In 2014, Traoré was promoted to lieutenant and later deployed to Mali in 2018 as part of the United Nations peacekeeping force (MINUSMA).

On his return to Burkina Faso, Traoré spent much of his military career fighting the jihadist insurgency in the country’s north, earning himself a promotion to captain in 2020.

Traoré participated in the January 2022 Burkina Faso military coup that deposed President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré and brought fellow soldier Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba to power.

In March 2022, President Damiba promoted Traoré to head of artillery in the Kaya regiment in the center of the country.

On 30 September 2022, Traoré led a military coup that deposed Interim President Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba from power after just eight months in office.

Captain Ibrahim Traoré took over as interim leader on 6 October 2022, becoming Africa’s youngest and the world’s second-youngest head of state at 34.