Jean-Baptiste Philippe Ouédraogo (French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃ batist filip wedʁaɔɡo]; born 30 June 1942), also referred to by his initials JBO,[1] is a Burkinabé physician and retired military officer who served as President of Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso) from 8 November 1982 to 4 August 1983.

More ideologically moderate than most of his comrades, Ouédraogo did not command much popular support and governed the country amid an unstable political climate.

He has just started his political career...It is in spite of himself that Jean-Baptiste Ouédraogo is called by soldiers to supreme responsibilities, and the halo of modesty adds even more to his brilliance."

[10] According to Ouédraogo, 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".

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

[15] On 28 February a plot by several army officers to massacre the CSP in assembly and restore Zerbo's regime was foiled when they delayed and were arrested by other officials.

Its membership of the Non-Aligned Movement affirms its total determination to remain independent, to stand above the major hegemonic rivalries which pose such a threat to world peace."

Meanwhile, as Sankara toured various communist and socialist countries, rumors circulated among the Voltaic population that the CSP would assume a radical leftist 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.

Ouédraogo assured the populace that it was "a routine visit, a kind of courtesy call and I think that we must not try to see anything beyond that," and stated that "there should be no talk of setting up a Voltaic Jamahiriya".

[16] That day the CSP organised a large rally in the city where a moderate speech by Ouédraogo was much less enthusiastically received than Sankara's radical remarks.

[19][g] President Félix Houphouët-Boigny refused to meet him in the Ivory Coast, advising that he should focus on stemming Libyan influence within his own country.

[22] As his tenure progressed, Ouédraogo found himself unable to reconcile the conservative and radical factions of the CSP, whose disagreements were leading to a political stalemate.

[25] 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.

[16][30] 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.

[34] Ouédraogo was officially removed from his post as Minister of National Defence on 23 August and succeeded by Jean-Baptiste Boukary Lingani.

[38] Sankara changed the name of Upper Volta to Burkina Faso in 1984, and three years later he was killed in a coup and replaced by Compaoré.

[41] In 1992 he successfully secured a loan of 250 million West African CFA francs from a French bank and founded a clinic, the Notre-Dame de la Paix,[k] in the Somgandé district, south of Ouagadougou.

Upon his return to medical work in 1985 Ouédraogo declared that he would not take an active role in politics[41] and from then on he generally showed little interest in involving himself in public affairs.

[48] In November 2012 he delivered a speech on behalf of himself and Saye Zerbo, expressing concern about how corrupt Burkina Faso's administration had become over the preceding years and accusing the country's leaders of inaction on the matter.

[46] After seeking refuge in the Vatican embassy, Diendéré was handed over to Burkinabé transitional government authorities and Ouédraogo escorted him into custody at the gendarmerie base in the capital.