Maurice Yaméogo

Maurice Nawalagmba Yaméogo
1st President of Upper Volta
In office August 5, 1960 – January 3, 1966
Preceded by	None (position first established)
Succeeded by	Sangoulé Lamizana
Personal details
Born	December 31, 1921(1921-12-31) Koudougou, Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso)
Died	September 9, 1993(1993-09-09) (aged 71) Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
Nationality	Upper Voltian
Political party	Union Démocratique Voltaïque
Spouse(s)	Felecite Zagre Suzanne de Manaco Jeanette

Maurice Yaméogo (December 31, 1921 – September 9, 1993) was the first President of the Republic of Upper Volta, now called Burkina Faso. He proclaimed the independence of the country on August 5, 1960 and also tried (but failed) to create a union between Cote d'Ivoire and Upper-Volta. On January 3, 1966, he left the Presidency because of a nation-wide syndicalist strike.

Private life

Birth

Maurice Nawalagmba Yaméogo was born on December 31, 1921 in an animist family of farmers at Koudougou. “Nawalagmba”, in Mossi, the most spoken language in Burkina Faso means: “The one coming to unite, to gather the others”. Nawalagmba had a twin sister called Wamanegdo. It is only after his baptism, on July 28, 1929 that he was given the name “Maurice”.^[1]

Education

Primary school

Yaméogo attended the public primary school of his native village.

High school

After the primary school of his native village, Maurice Yaméogo went to the Small Seminar of Pabre. Pabre is the institution in which most of Upper-Volta priests were trained. However, during his training, the young Maurice lost his sacerdotal vocation and left Pabre.^[2]

Marriages

Maurice Yaméogo wanted to be a priest but he finally left the Small Seminar of Pabre. Maurice fell in love with Felecite Zagre who later became his wife. But, on October 17, 1965, he would get married with Suzanne de Monaco, a young Ivorian woman. Félix Houphouët-Boigny (President of Ivory Coast) and Hamani Diori (President of Niger) were the witnesses at his marriage. Marie-Thérèse Houphouët-Boigny took care of the bride. However, this union would not last long and Maurice would get married a third time with Jeannette.^[1] Maurice Yaméogo had many children.

Career

Professional career

Maurice Yaméogo started his professional career just after leaving Pabre. He started as a simple clerk for the French Colonial Administration. For this reason, Maurice worked in Ivory Coast where he was shocked by the fact that some Upper-Volta businessmen were illegally practicing some kind of workforce traffic to supply Ivory Coast huge plantations with workers. In Upper-Volta, Maurice also worked as a clerk for the Administrative, Accounting and Finance Services (SAFC) of the French Colonial Administration. For this purpose, he was appointed in towns like Dedougou and Koudougou. Maurice Yaméogo was later appointed head of the CFTC syndicate (French Confederation of Christian Workers) of his corporation, and vice-president of CFTC Upper-Volta.

Political career

Maurice Yaméogo started his political career as the general counsellor of Koudougou before reaching, after several steps, the Presidency. This very active political career started when he was elected general counsellor of Koudougou and then territorial counsellor in 1948 with re-elections in 1952. On March 31, 1957, he was elected Grand Counsellor of AOF (French Occidental Africa) on an MDV list (Voltaic Democratic Movement), and two months later, he was appointed minister of the agricultural economy in the first council of government headed by Mr. Yvon Bourges, last French Governor in Upper-Volta (May 18, 1957) that was later replaced by Daniel Ouezzin Coulibaly. On February 6, 1958, after a Government change, Maurice Yaméogo was appointed Minister of Interior.^[2] This was a sign of recognition of Daniel Ouezzin Coulibaly because Maurice helped him during difficult political periods and was now part his political party, the UDV (Voltaic Democratic Union), affiliated to RDA.^[3] Actually, Maurice Yaméogo was now the second in the government because at this time, the Minister of Interior was the one designed to replace the President of the council of Government if this one was away. The “National Fate” of Maurice Yaméogo was being clearer from this time.

Presidency of Burkina Faso

Way to presidency

When Daniel Ouezzin Coulibaly was taken to Paris for health reasons, Maurice Yaméogo was the one ensuring the interim (July 28, 1958).^[4] On October 21, 1958, he was appointed President of Upper-Volta council of Government after Daniel Ouezzin Coulibaly, the former President of the council of government who died in Paris on September 7, 1958. From now, the road to the Presidency seemed all shaped for Maurice Yaméogo. Then, his political career followed these steps:^[2]

Periods	Functions
December 11, 1958 – April 25, 1959	President of Upper-Volta council of Government Minister of Information Elected Secretary of the youth section of UDV/RDA
April 20, 1959 – December 11, 1959	Deputy UDV/RDA in Upper-Volta legislative body
April 25, 1959 – December 11, 1959	President of Upper-Volta council of Government Minister of Justice and war veterans

President

On December 11, 1959, Maurice Yaméogo became the first President of the new Republic of Upper-Volta and proclaimed on August 5, 1960, the independence of the country.^[4] Maurice Yaméogo obtained this Independence by simple transfer of powers, without negotiation or any referendum. Maurice Yaméogo was a close friend of Félix Houphouët-Boigny (President) who inspired him all his life long. Yaméogo favored a “Federation of Mali” that would gather Senegal, French Soudan (called Mali today), Dahomey (Benin), and Upper-Volta (Burkina Faso). However, he would finally adopt anti-federalist ideas developed by France and Félix Houphouët-Boigny. Yaméogo would follow Houphouët-Boigny in his ambition to create the “Conseil de l'Entente” (Agreement Council), an organization to promote peace and solidarity between west African countries. Maurice Yaméogo and Houphouët-Boigny also worked on a project of double nationality between Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso. However, when Yaméogo left the presidency on January 3, 1966, Houphouët-Boigny abandoned this project of double nationality.

Resignation

On December 27, 1965, Maurice Yaméogo was in the Ivory Coast to negotiate the project of double nationality. Having heard about serious decreases in salaries and budget, Voltaic syndicates drove a nationwide strike. The Upper-Volta Army then decided to seize power, and Yaméogo resigned the Presidency on January 3, 1966 in order to avoid a civil war.^[5] The Army was in control; a military coup caused Yaméogo to be abdicated, the Constitution to be suspended, the National Assembly to be dissolved, and Lt. Col. Sangoulé Lamizana to be placed at the head of a government essentially run by senior army officers. The army remained in power for four years, and on June 14, 1970, the Voltans ratified a new Constitution that established a 4-year transition period toward complete civilian rule. Lamizana remained in power throughout the 1970s as president of military or mixed civil-military governments. After a conflict arising over the 1970 Constitution, a new constitution was written and approved in 1977, and Lamizana was reelected through open elections in 1978.^[6]

After the presidency

Jail

After resigning, Maurice Yaméogo was put in jail three days later. His son Hermann Yaméogo tried to free him, but failed and was put in jail too. On May 8, 1969, Maurice Yaméogo was condemned to five years of forced work and to a lifetime banishment. However, he was freed on August 5, 1970. Maurice Yaméogo also experienced political internment with other politicians during the revolution of 1983.^[6]

Exile in Ivory Coast

From 1985 until 1990, Maurice Yaméogo was exiled in Ivory Coast, a country with which he always kept good relations.

Rehabilitation

On May 1991, President Blaise Compaoré rehabilitated Maurice Yaméogo, giving him back his Burkinabé citizenship rights.^[1] He would often play the role of “go-between” between the two countries. On September 9, 1993, Maurice Yaméogo died in Ouagadougou. During his funerals that took place in Koudougou on September 17, 1993, Blaise Compaore and his wife Chantal Compaoré were there, with other personalities. Among them were Alassane Ouattara (Prime Minister of Ivory Coast) and Laurent Dona Fologo (Secretary general of PDCI-RDA).^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Lefaso.net (2006). Quand la Cote d’Ivoire et la Haute-Volta (devenue Bukina Faso) revaient de la “double nationalite”.Retrieved March 26, 2006 from http://www.lefaso.net/article.php3?id_article=136/
2. ^ ^{a b c} LA PETITE ACADEMIE. (2004). Detail sur la personalite selectionnee. LA PETITEACADEMIE .Retrieved March 19, 2006 from http://www.petiteacademie.gov.bf/Personnalite.asp?CodePersonnalite=216
3. ^ Janda, K. (1980). UPPER VOLTA: The Party System in 1950–1956 and 1957–1962.Political Parties: A Cross-National Survey Retrieved March 26, 2006 from http://janda.org/icpp/ICPP1980/Book/PART2/8-WestAfrica/87-UpperVolta/UpperVolta.htm
4. ^ ^{a b} Bendre. (2005). Les acrobaties politiques en Haute Volta a la veille des indépendances. Bendre. Retrieved March 19, 2006 from http://www.bendre.africa-web.org/article.php3?id_article=985
5. ^ Lefaso.net . (2009). Général Sangoulé Lamizana : Un non assoiffé de pouvoir Retrieved December 11, 2009 from http://www.lefaso.net/spip.php?article7545
6. ^ ^{a b} Historycentral. (2006). BURKINA FASO Retrieved March 19, 2006 from http://www.historycentral.com/nationbynation/Burkino/history1.html

Persondata
Name	Yameogo, Maurice
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	December 31, 1921
Place of birth	Koudougou, Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso)
Date of death	September 9, 1993
Place of death	Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso