Ibrahim Traoré

Ibrahim Traoré (born 14 March 1988) is a Burkinabé military officer and politician who has held power as the interim president of Burkina Faso since the overthrow of his predecessor in a 2022 coup. Ideologically prominent for his nationalist, pan-Africanist, anti-imperialist, and anti-Western views, Traoré is the second leader of the Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration, the ruling military junta in Burkina Faso since September 2022 and the second president of the Alliance of Sahel States since 2025.

Born in Kéra, located in western Burkina Faso, Traoré graduated from the University of Ouagadougou in 2009 with a bachelor's degree in science and geology. Following his graduation from university, he joined the Burkina Faso Armed Forces and received military training abroad, reportedly in Morocco and France. Traoré gained experience fighting terrorism during the country's jihadist insurgency. In 2019, he was deployed to Mali with the United Nations peacekeeping mission (MINUSMA).

In September 2022, Traoré led a coup against then-Interim President Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba and successfully ousted him. At the age of 34, Traoré became the country's second youngest head of state, and also became the world's youngest head of state at the time. During his tenure, Traoré has distanced Burkina Faso from France and ECOWAS, expelled their troops, and has aligned Burkina Faso with Russia, Turkey, China, and Mali and Niger.

Traoré played a major role in the founding of the Alliance of Sahel States, an alliance consisting of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. Under Traoré's leadership, there has been a crackdown on freedom of the press and political opposition, including the unlawful conscription of critics, journalists, activists, prosecutors and judges. As of January 2026, according to DW Africa, Traoré has survived at least 5 coup attempts against his leadership since taking power.