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On this day in 1983 Marxist revolutionary and pan-Africanist Thomas Sankara became president of Burkina Faso formerly Upper Volta in a popularly supported coup. Inspired by the example of the revolutionary armed in China and Cuba under Mao Zedong and Fidel Castro, he believed that the armed forces could act as a progressive socialist force that could help improve the lives of the people. Sankara launched extensive social, ecological, and economic programs as well as land reform. Setting a personal example, he cut his salary and sold off the government fleet of Mercedes while maintaining an austere lifestyle. He was also known for his strong anti-imperialist foreign policy challenging western imperialism in Africa, mainly France.

However, Sankara's presidency came to a tragic end in 1987 when he was murdered during a coup organized by Baise Compaoré who had become Sankara's closest friend after they had met in the military and who had been involved in the 1983 revolution. Read on.

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