Ablassé Ouédraogo

Early years and education Ouédraogo was born in Dabaré, Pabré Department, in Burkina Faso's province of Kadiogo on 30 June 1953. He attended Cercle de Boussé for primary school then Lycée Philippe Zinda Kaboré in Ouagadougou, where he earned a Baccalauréat in Economics and Social Sciences. He studied economics at the National University of Gabon on a scholarship from the Association of African Universities from 1973 to 1975 and received a diploma in general economics.

Political career Ouédraogo's political career began on an international level with roles within the United Nations Development Programme, starting as Deputy Administrator for the United Nations Industrial Development Organization in Niamey, Niger from 1982 to 1984. He was then Head of Programme in Conakry, Guinea, from 1984 to 1986; Deputy Resident Representative to the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in Addis Ababa (1986-1988) and in Kinshasa, Zaire; and Resident Representative in Brazzaville (1988-1991). He also worked as Regional Director for East Africa of the UN office for the Sudan-Sahel Region in Nairobi. In his last role with the UN, he supported the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, Southern African Development Coordination Conference, and the United Nations Environment Programme in addition to the OAU and ECA (1993-1994). His work with WTO was focused on a partnership with and development in Africa, including the launch of the African Ministers of Trade conference in Libreville. He presented at the WTO Ministerial Conferences in Seattle in November 1999 and Doha in November 2001, and at the International Conference on Financing for Development held at Monterrey in March 2002. and July 2007, Ouédraogo worked as Senior Advisor for Africa to the President of the African Development Bank Group (ADB) This political crisis eventually subsided with the signing of the Additional Act of Addis Ababa to the Malagasy Charter of the Transition on 6 November 2009.

Ouédraogo served as national coordinator of the political opposition protests in Ouagadougou in October 2014, when Compaoré was deposed. He was part of the team that worked to establish a transitional government, which included working to convince the military to approve a civilian transitional leader. An interim president, Michel Kafando, was chosen within 15 days. Ouédraogo was also involved with restoring peace following the failed coup d’état deposing Kafando on 17 September 2015.

Political opposition Ouédraogo founded the liberal centrist political party Alternative Faso in 2011 after observing conservative elements of Blaise Compaoré's presidency he found at odds with his own ideology. He became the party's president in 2012 as a representative of Alternative Faso. He played a significant role in combating the modification to Article 37 of the Burkinabé Constitution governing presidential term limits.

Alternative Faso selected Ouédraogo as their candidate in the 2015 Burkinabè general election but he garnered only 1.93% of all the votes, losing to Roch Marc Christian Kaboré. He ran again in 2020 but gained only 1.81% of the vote.

On 25 December 2023, Ablassé Ouedraogo was apprehended by the police at his home. Ablassé Ouedraogo would have received a military requisition order sent by the Burkinabé transitional power forcing Ablassé Ouedraogo to go to the front against terrorism..

Other interests In addition to his work on international matters, Ouédraogo also serves as a consultant for road safety and the recreation industry. He founded ZOODO International, an international and strategic relations consulting firm, in 2008. He has championed increased resource distribution to and self-determination for rural populations. Additionally, he promotes women's empowerment. He served on the Administrative Council of the International Center for Tropical Agriculture from July 2007 to August 2008, where he helped promote agricultural research in Africa. From September 2010 to June 2013, he served as President of the Administrative Council for the New Inter-University Third Cycle in Economics for universities in Central and West Africa. He has also advocated for increased access to public and religious schools for rural communities, prioritizing youth access to culture. He organized a Music Summit in September 2011 to promote the musical arts.

Awards and honors December 2015 - Commandeur of the National Order of Burkina Faso November 2000 - Officer of the National Equatorial Order of Gabon December 1997 - Officer of the National Order of Burkina Faso