Ibrahim Traoré is a Burkinabé military officer and politician who has been serving as the interim President of Burkina Faso since September 2022. He came to power by leading a coup d'état that ousted the then interim president Paul- Henri Sandaogo Damiba. Born on March 14, 1988, Traoré is one of the youngest heads of state in the world

. Traoré was born in Kéra, Bondokuy, in Burkina Faso and studied geology at the University of Ouagadougou before joining the military in 2010. He rose through the ranks, becoming a captain in 2020, and served as a peacekeeper in Mali under the UN mission. He also fought against insurgents in Burkina Faso and was involved in a special counterterrorism unit

. His rise to power was driven by dissatisfaction among younger officers and troops over the handling of the jihadist insurgency by the previous junta leader Damiba. Traoré and his allies overthrew Damiba in a coup in September 2022, with Traoré becoming the head of the military junta and interim president shortly after

. As president, Traoré has sought to reduce Burkina Faso's ties with its former colonial power France and has played a key role in founding the Alliance of Sahel States, a regional bloc with Mali and Niger that has distanced itself from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)

. Traoré is seen by many young Africans as a revolutionary leader, often compared to the iconic Burkinabé leader Thomas Sankara, although their political contexts and actions differ. He is known for his anti-neocolonial stance, expelling French troops, and challenging Western influence in Africa

. In summary, Ibrahim Traoré is a young military officer who became Burkina Faso's interim president through a coup in 2022, known for his revolutionary rhetoric, anti-French policies, and leadership in regional Sahel alliances