Thomas Isidore Noël Sankara (Yako, December 21, 1949 – Ouagadougou, October 15, 1987) was a military officer, Marxist revolutionary, Pan-Africanist, and political leader of Burkina Faso. He was a popular captain and the Prime Minister when the country was still called the Republic of Upper Volta. Shortly thereafter, he became the fifth Voltan president since the liberation from French rule and the first president of Burkina Faso.