Michel Kafando

Michel Kafando (born 18 August 1942) is a Burkinabé diplomat who served as the transitional President of Burkina Faso from 2014 to 2015. He served in the government as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1982 to 1983 and was the Permanent Representative (Ambassador) of Burkina Faso to the United Nations from 1998 to 2011. Following the resignation of President Blaise Compaoré amidst mass protests on 31 October 2014, Kafando was chosen to serve as President during a year-long transitional period leading to the next election. He was sworn in on 18 November 2014. Kafando was briefly ousted by the Regiment of Presidential Security in a September 2015 coup, but he was restored to power within a week. Background Michel Kafando was born on 18 August 1942 in Ouagadougou. From 1956 until 1963 he attended Jean-Baptiste de la Salle College, where he received both his secondary education and his bachelor's degree in sciences. He attained a bachelor's degree in public law from the University of Bordeaux in 1969, a diploma in political studies in 1972 in Paris and another diploma from the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva also in 1972. He later gained a PhD in political science at the Sorbonne in 1990. He is married to Marie Kafando and has one child.