Thomas Isidore Noël Sankara was born in 1949, in Yako, Upper Volta (Burkina Faso). He joined the military, and while undertaking officer training in Madagascar saw the government toppled by a popular uprising. Later, training as a paratrooper in France, he became interested in Marxist politics.
He was honoured for his heroism in a border war against Mali, but came to renounce war as useless and unjust. He was popular among his people, and a charismatic leader, but often at odds with others in power. He President of Burkina Faso in 1983.
He was anti-Imperialist, and refused foreign aid or the influence of the IMF. He instead embarked on an ambitious campaign of debt reduction, nationalisation of land and wealth, and agrarian self-sufficiency. He prioritised famine prevention, vaccination, and nationwide literacy. He planted 10,000,000 trees to combat desertification, doubled his nation's wheat production, and outlawed female genital mutilation, polygamy and forced marriage. He actively promoted women and encouraged them in work and education.
To achieve these gains, Sankara became increasingly authoritarian, and while he remained popular with the people, he antagonised local tribal leaders and French colonialists. He was assassinated by one of his top associates in 1987.