Relations between the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and the government of Thomas Sankara, a Burkinabé Marxist and pan-Africanist, were initially close after Sankara came to power in a military coup in 1983. Prior to the coup, Burkina Faso was known as the Republic of Upper Volta and Sankara, as Prime Minister under the rule of Major Dr. Jean-Baptiste Ouédraogo, invited Gaddafi to Ouagadougou. Gaddafi, intrigued by Sankara, met only with the young revolutionary-minded officer and not with President Ouédraogo, reportedly causing significant friction between Sankara and his then-superior.