# Republic of Upper Volta

Part of a series on the :
History of Burkina Faso :
| Bura Bura-Asinda | Prehistoric c. 3rd–13th century |
| Mossi Kingdoms | c. 11th century – 1896 |
| Kong Empire | c. 1710 – 1898 |
| French Upper Volta | 1919–1932 1947–1958 |
| Republic | 1958–1984 |
Burkina Faso (1984–present) :
| Agacher Strip War | 1985 |
| Assassination of Sankara | 1987 |
| Compaoré rule | 1987–2014 |
| Burkinabè revolution | 2014 |
| Transitional period | 2014–2015 |
| Jihadist insurgency | 2015–present |
| Burkinabé coup d'état | 2015 |
| 2015 elections and aftermath | 2015–2022 |
| January and September coup d'état | 2022 |
vte :
The Republic of Upper Volta (French: République de Haute-Volta) was a landlocked West African country established on 11 December 1958 as a self-governing state within the French Community. Before becoming autonomous, it had been part of the French Union as the French Upper Volta. On 5 August 1960, it gained full independence from France. On 4 August 1984, it changed its name to Burkina Faso.

## Etymology

The name Upper Volta indicated that the country contains the upper part of the Volta River.

## History

Upper Volta obtained independence on 5 August 1960, with Maurice Yaméogo of the Voltaic Democratic Union-African Democratic Rally (UDV-RDA) becoming the country's first president. A constitution was ratified the same year, establishing presidential elections by direct universal suffrage and a National Assembly, both with five-year terms. Shortly after coming to power, Yaméogo banned all political parties other than the UDV-RDA. He had shown a deep authoritarian streak even before becoming president. Between the time he became prime minister of Upper Volta while it was still a French colony and independence two years later, opposition parties were subjected to increased harassment.
On 3 January 1966, Yaméogo was overthrown in a coup d'état led by army chief Sangoulé Lamizana. Although multiparty democracy was nominally restored four years later, Lamizana dominated the country's politics until he was himself overthrown in 1980.
After a series of short-term presidencies, Thomas Sankara then came to power through yet another military coup d'état on 4 August 1983. After the coup, he formed the National Council for the Revolution (CNR), with himself as president. Under the direction of Sankara, the country changed its name on 4 August 1984, from Upper Volta to Burkina Faso, which means "Land of Incorruptible People".

## Politics

From 1958 to 1960, the Republic of Upper Volta was led by a high commissioner:
* Max Berthet (11 December 1958 to February 1959),
* Paul Masson (February 1959 to 5 August 1960).
From 1971 to 1987, the Republic of Upper Volta was led by a prime minister:
* Gérard Kango Ouédraogo (13 February 1971 to 8 February 1974)
* Thomas Sankara (4 August 1983 to 14 October 1987)

## Symbols
### Flag

The colours of the national flag corresponded to the names of the Volta's three main tributaries: the Black Volta, the White Volta and the Red Volta.

### National Hymn

This anthem was replaced in 1984 by a new anthem, the Ditanyè.

## Cultural references

During the 1960s, the Soviet Union was sometimes derisively referred to as "Upper Volta with rockets", coined by a journalist Xan Smiley, referencing USSR's disproportion of defence sector over relatively undeveloped civilian economy.