Yacouba Isaac Zida (born 16 November 1965) is a Burkinabé military officer and politician, who served as the Interim Head of State of Burkina Faso in November 2014.
Zida took power on an interim basis in the aftermath of the 2014 Burkinabé uprising, sidelining a more senior officer, Honoré Nabéré Traoré. A few weeks later, power was handed over to a civilian Head of State, Michel Kafando, with the intention of leading the country until the next election. Zida was subsequently appointed Interim Prime Minister by Kafando. Zida was briefly ousted from power in the 2015 coup attempt by the Presidential Security Regiment before power was restored and the regiment was disbanded.
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Early career
Zida obtained a master's degree in International Management from the University of Lyon. He also received military training from the American army. Under President Blaise Compaoré, he served as deputy commander of the Regiment of Presidential Security. He was a UN peacekeeper in Democratic Republic of the Congo from 2008 to 2009.
2014 Burkinabé uprising
During the 2014 Burkinabé uprising, President Compaoré resigned on 31 October 2014 and army chief Honoré Nabéré Traoré announced that he was taking over as head of state, but his claim to power was immediately contested by a group of junior officers headed by Zida, who aligned himself with the protesters. On 1 November 2014, the armed forces unanimously backed Zida to lead the country in an interim capacity towards the 2015 presidential election.