Ouédraogo had been brought to power in a 1982 coup with the Conseil de Salut du Peuple (CSP), a body composed of military officials of different ideological backgrounds.

Sankara became the new President of Upper Volta and created the Conseil National de la Revolution (CNR), a new governing body consisting mostly of populist junior officers.

[4] According to Ouédraogo, radical Captain Thomas Sankara was supposed to take power but withdrew at the last minute, leading other officers to choose him to assume the presidency due to his senior rank though, in his words, "against my will".

[5] Unlike Sankara, he lacked political experience and popular support, and was quickly regarded by the left-wing members of the CSP as conservative and sympathetic to policies of France.

[9] Meanwhile, as Sankara toured various communist and socialist countries, rumors circulated among the Voltaic population that the CSP would assume a radical left-wing approach to governing and expropriate small businesses.

In an attempt to alleviate concerns, Ouédraogo told members of the National Council of Voltaic Employers that "private initiative will be maintained...you are the primary motor of the country's economic activity".

A Libyan transport aircraft landed at Ouagadougou Airport shortly after his return, generating rumours of a plot to install a pro-Libya regime in Upper Volta.

[15] Ouédraogo's political position was weak; his left-wing opponents were well organised while he did not have reliable connections with the conservative factions he supposedly represented and could only really count on the support of a handful of his former classmates from the Pabré minor seminary.

[10][20] He also felt that the increased politicisation of the army was dangerous and compounded the threat of a civil war, so he warned that any soldiers found to be involving themselves in politics would be reprimanded.

Stating that the older generation of politicians had been discredited and should retire, he announced that "patriots" and "new men with a sense of responsibility and national realities" should assume leadership of the country.

[24] According to some accounts, Compaoré's forces were moved to act when they received reports that Somé Yorian was planning on deposing Ouédraogo, seizing power, and killing Sankara and his allies.

[26] They left in the afternoon with a group of armed civilians and seized trucks from a Canadian construction company, allowing them to make quick progress.

At around the same time the paratroopers infiltrated the capital and began to seize strategic locations throughout,[27] mounting attacks on the radio station, Camp Guillame—home to the army's armoured detachment, and the gendarmerie headquarters.

[24] He created a Conseil National de la Revolution (CNR), a governing body consisting mostly of populist junior officers,[29] as well as members of the Ligue patriotique pour le développement and the Union des Luttes Communistes.

[37] On 6 August Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi extended his formal congratulations to Sankara and dispatched a plane with aid to Upper Volta.

[38] The coup came at a time when Libyan involvement in conflict in Chad was increasing, generating worries among the governments of Niger and the Ivory Coast that the overthrow was a move planned by Gaddafi.

"[37] In a measure to assuage concerns, Sankara sent a message to Ivory Coast President Félix Houphouët-Boigny, expressing a wish to "consolidate the traditional friendship and cooperation" between their countries.

[38] On 9 August Sankara dismissed Ouédraogo's cabinet, asking top civil servants to take charge of their ministries until new ministers could be appointed.

[43] That night, conservative soldiers attempted a counter coup, launching a tripartite attack in Ouagadougou against Sankara's residence, a radio station, and the place where Somé Yorian and a paratrooper commander, Fidele Guebre, were being held.

[41] Sankara declared that the goals of his "revolution" would be to counter imperialism, stem corruption, heighten the status of women, conserve the environment, and improve access to education and health care.

On the first anniversary of the coup, he changed Upper Volta's name to "Burkina Faso", roughly translating from the Mooré and Dyula languages as the "land of upright people".

[44] During his tenure he pushed programs which improved literacy and school attendance rates, increased women's positions in government, ameliorated infant mortality, and promoted reforestation.