7: Thomas Sankara
Thomas Isidore Noel Sankara served as the President of Burkina Faso between 1983 and 1987. He seized power in 1983 at the age of 33 in an endeavor to eliminate corruption and the dominance of the former French colonial power in 1983. Many people call him the “African Che Guevara.” He was a military captain, pan-African theorist, Marxist revolutionary and feminist. He was an icon for many young Africans in the 1980. Even to this day he is a hero for many in Burkina Faso. Sankara is praised for his integrity and selflessness. An armed group assassinated Sankara on October 15, 1987.