Blaise Compaoré (born 3 February 1951) is a Burkinabé politician who was President of Burkina Faso from 1987 to 2014. He was a top associate of President Thomas Sankara during the 1980s, and in October 1987 he led a coup d'état during which Sankara was killed; subsequently he introduced a policy of "rectification", overturning the Marxist policies pursued by Sankara. He won elections in 1991, 1998, 2005, and 2010, in questionable circumstances. His attempt to amend the constitution to extend his 27-year term caused the 2014 Burkinabé uprising. On 31 October 2014, Compaoré resigned, whereupon he fled to the Ivory Coast.