34-Year-Old Burkina Faso’s Junta Chief Becomes World’s Youngest Leader

On Wednesday, 34-year-old Ibrahim Traore was declared president and “guarantor of national independence, territorial integrity… and continuity of the State.”

Barely a week ago, 34-year-old Ibrahim Traore was an unknown, even in his native Burkina Faso.

However, in the space of a weekend, he elevated himself from army captain to the world’s youngest leader; a huge change that has spiked hopes and fears for a poor and troubled country.

Traore ousted Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, who had seized power just in January.

The motive for this recent coup; as in January – was anger at failures to stem a seven-year jihadist insurgency that has claimed thousands of lives and driven nearly two million people from their homes.

At that moment, Traore became the world’s youngest leader, wresting the title from Chilean President Gabriel Boric, a whole two years older.

Traore’s face is now plastered on portraits around the capital Ouagadougou.

His photo is also on sale in the main market, with portraits of Burkina’s revered assassinated radical leader, Thomas Sankara.