In SHIFTER’s Best of 2025, our journalist roundtable has named Burkina Faso Interim President Ibrahim Traoré as SHIFTER’s Person of the Year.
Our process included a first round where our participating journalists completed a form where they could nominate the potential nominees. From the nomination form, a final voting form was created where our participating journalists voted on the winners from the list of nominees. The journalists completed the forms individually and were not able to see the other journalists’ answers.
Burkina Faso Interim President Ibrahim Traoré is someone that you either love or hate. To many in the West, he’s a friend of Russia and a threat to democracy. To many in the Black diaspora, including Africa, the Caribbean, Canada, and United States, he’s a bold, inspirational, and visionary leader. His vision for a self-sufficient Burkina Faso and Africa, free from the shackles of colonialism and world systems that would keep Africa accepting handouts is one that resonates with many in the global Black community.
In 2025, Burkina Faso has made economic progress. According to the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, inflation is down 2.7%, the gold mining industry is seeing growth, extreme poverty is on the decline, and revenue and social spending on health, education, and social protection are on the rise.
One of Traoré’s more impressive goals is building 5000 km of new paved roads annually by purchasing equipment and heavy machinery, and training and empowering citizens, including youth. Burkina Faso had only built 3000-3600 km of paved roads in the 60+ years since independence.
While democracy is the ideal political system, under Traoré’s leadership, Burkina Faso is experiencing a time of stability and growth that is hard to dispute.
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