Valère Somé
Encyclopedia
Dr. Valère Somé is a politician and scholar from Burkina Faso
. Somé was the leader of the Union of Communist Struggles - Reconstructed
(ULC-R) during the 1980s. He is an Anthropo-Economist, and heads research at the INSS-CNRST.
Entering the revolutionary process of 1983 with the support from the student movement, Somé came to play an important role in the political life of the country during the rule of the Revolutionary National Council led by Thomas Sankara
. Somé and another ULC-R leader, Basile Guissou, largely functioned as the 'ideologues' of the revolutionary government.
In January 1985 ULC-R won the elections in the University of Ouagadougou
Committee for the Defense of the Revolution. But another faction, the Union of Burkinabè Communists
(UCB), controlled the university administration through the principal Clément Oumarou Ouedraogo. On 29 August 1986 Somé was named Minister of Higher Education and Research. As a result from the ULC-R/UCB rivalry at the university, the university CDR committee was disbanded on 1 September 1986. Somé faced criticism from within his own organization after taking charge as Minister.
On 9 September 1987 a new government was formed, without Somé. Later the same month, Sankara gave Somé the task of drafting a programme for the unification of the different revolutionary organizations. After the overthrow and assassination of Sankara in 1987, Somé went into exile in Congo-Brazzaville for a period.
In 1989 Somé formed the Party for Social Democracy (PDS) along with other former ULC-R members who had refused to merge with the Organization for Popular Democracy - Labour Movement
. In January 1995 PDS and other parties merged into the Party for Unified Social Democracy (PDSU), with Somé as its leader.
Somé completed his doctoral thesis in 1996.
On 21 May 2000, Somé's party merged into the Sankarist Pan-African Convention
(CPS). Somé became general secretary of the CPS. He later founded a new party, the Convergence for Social Democracy
(CDS). In October 2004 he was replaced by Djéjouma Sanon as the leader of CDS.
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso – also known by its short-form name Burkina – is a landlocked country in west Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest.Its size is with an estimated...
. Somé was the leader of the Union of Communist Struggles - Reconstructed
Union of Communist Struggles - Reconstructed
Union of Communist Struggles - Reconstructed was a communist party in Burkina Faso. ULC-R was formed in 1983 as a continuation of the Union of Communist Struggles . Generally ULC-R was simply called 'ULC'...
(ULC-R) during the 1980s. He is an Anthropo-Economist, and heads research at the INSS-CNRST.
Entering the revolutionary process of 1983 with the support from the student movement, Somé came to play an important role in the political life of the country during the rule of the Revolutionary National Council led by Thomas Sankara
Thomas Sankara
Thomas Isidore Noël Sankara was a Burkinabé military captain, Marxist revolutionary, Pan-Africanist theorist, and President of Burkina Faso from 1983 to 1987...
. Somé and another ULC-R leader, Basile Guissou, largely functioned as the 'ideologues' of the revolutionary government.
In January 1985 ULC-R won the elections in the University of Ouagadougou
University of Ouagadougou
Founded in 1974, the University of Ouagadougou is located in the area of Zogona in Ouagadougou. But in 1995 a second campus for professional education known as University Polytechnique of Bobo was opened in the city of Bobo Dioulasso and a third campus for teacher training in Koudougou in 1996...
Committee for the Defense of the Revolution. But another faction, the Union of Burkinabè Communists
Union of Burkinabè Communists
Union of Burkinabè Communists was a communist party in Burkina Faso. UCB was founded in August 1984 by the Group for the Unity of Marxists-Leninists , the Marxist-Leninist Group and one other group.In...
(UCB), controlled the university administration through the principal Clément Oumarou Ouedraogo. On 29 August 1986 Somé was named Minister of Higher Education and Research. As a result from the ULC-R/UCB rivalry at the university, the university CDR committee was disbanded on 1 September 1986. Somé faced criticism from within his own organization after taking charge as Minister.
On 9 September 1987 a new government was formed, without Somé. Later the same month, Sankara gave Somé the task of drafting a programme for the unification of the different revolutionary organizations. After the overthrow and assassination of Sankara in 1987, Somé went into exile in Congo-Brazzaville for a period.
In 1989 Somé formed the Party for Social Democracy (PDS) along with other former ULC-R members who had refused to merge with the Organization for Popular Democracy - Labour Movement
Organization for Popular Democracy - Labour Movement
Organization for Popular Democracy - Labour Movement was the ruling political party in Burkina Faso. It was founded in April 1989 by the Union of Burkinabè Communists, the Revolutionary Military Organization and factions from Communist Struggle Union - The Flame and Burkinabè Communist Group as a...
. In January 1995 PDS and other parties merged into the Party for Unified Social Democracy (PDSU), with Somé as its leader.
Somé completed his doctoral thesis in 1996.
On 21 May 2000, Somé's party merged into the Sankarist Pan-African Convention
Sankarist Pan-African Convention
The Sankarist Pan-African Convention is a political party in Burkina Faso The Sankarist Pan-African Convention is a political party in Burkina Faso The Sankarist Pan-African Convention is a political party in Burkina Faso (former Upper Volta. CPS was formed in 2000, through the merger of the...
(CPS). Somé became general secretary of the CPS. He later founded a new party, the Convergence for Social Democracy
Convergence for Social Democracy (Burkina Faso)
Convergence for Social Democracy is a sankarist political party in Burkina Faso.It was founded in December 2002 as split from the Union of Independent Democrats and Progressives. It is led by Djéjouma Sanon....
(CDS). In October 2004 he was replaced by Djéjouma Sanon as the leader of CDS.