Portrait of Thomas Sankara
Left · Leader · From history

Thomas Sankara

President of Burkina Faso, 1983 to 1987

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Launched anti-corruption drives, mass vaccinations, tree planting and women’s rights reforms before being killed in a coup at 37.

Thomas Sankara sits in the left-authoritarian part of the Caucus economy and liberty compass: strongly state-led and leaning authoritarian. The clearest positions are strongly state-led on economy, strongly anti-establishment on institutions and strongly progressive on culture. The profile is close to the middle on technology and interventionism.

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Where Thomas Sankara sits on ten dimensions

Each scale runs from one pole to the other, and the dot shows the overall tendency of this person's record and public life. These are simplified estimates and open to debate.

💰EconomyStrongly state-led
State-ledFree market
⚖️Liberty and authorityLeaning authoritarian
LibertarianAuthoritarian
🎭CultureStrongly progressive
ProgressiveTraditional
🌍NationLeaning nationalist
GlobalistNationalist
🌱EnvironmentStrongly nature-first
Growth-firstNature-first
🤖TechnologyCentered on technology
Tech-cautiousTech-optimist
🕊️War and peaceSlightly strength-first
Peace-firstStrength-first
🏛️InstitutionsStrongly anti-establishment
Anti-establishmentInstitutional
🙏ReligionLeaning secular
SecularReligious
🛡️InterventionismCentered on interventionism
Non-interventionistInterventionist

People most like Thomas Sankara

Evo Morales President of Bolivia, 2006 to 201997%Frantz Fanon Martinique-born psychiatrist and revolutionary, 1925 to 196197%Albin Kurti Prime Minister of Kosovo, 2020 and 2021 to present95%Gustavo Petro President of Colombia, 2022 to 202695%Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Founding President of Bangladesh, 1971 to 197594%Slavoj Žižek Slovenian philosopher and cultural critic94%Patrice Lumumba Prime Minister of the Congo, 196094%Cristina Fernández de Kirchner President of Argentina, 2007 to 201592%

People furthest from Thomas Sankara

Murray Rothbard American economist, 1926 to 199513%Mike Pence US Vice President, 2017 to 202114%Joseph de Maistre Savoyard counter-revolutionary thinker, 1753 to 182115%Ron Paul US Representative from Texas, 1997 to 201315%

Political views closest to Thomas Sankara

Left-wing populismFrames politics as ordinary people against economic elites, with strong redistribution…93%Anti-colonial nationalismFuses independence struggles with economic self-reliance and national dignity.87%Pan-AfricanismSeeks solidarity and unity among African peoples and states.87%CooperativismPrefers businesses owned and run by workers, consumers or local communities.84%

Read more about Thomas Sankara

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Biographies of Thomas SankaraBooks on left-wing populism

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Percentages show how close two profiles are across all ten dimensions. Including a person here is for study and comparison, not approval. Portrait: The Militant/ Ernest Harsch, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; see all photo credits.