Michel Kafando (born 18 August 1942) is a Burkinabé diplomat and politician, who served as Interim President of Burkina Faso from 2014 to 2015. He previously served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1982 to 1983 and as Permanent Representative of Burkina Faso to the United Nations from 1998 to 2011.
Following the resignation of President Blaise Compaoré amidst the 2014 Burkinabé uprising, Kafando was chosen by the interim military administration until the next elections. Kafando was briefly ousted in the September 2015 coup attempt by the Regiment of Presidential Security, but he ultimately restored power within a week and disbanded the regiment. Elections took place shortly thereafter, and Kafando was succeeded by Roch Marc Christian Kaboré in December 2015.
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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.