Djibrill Yipènè Bassolé (born November 30, 1957) is a Burkinabé political figure and diplomat. He served in the government of Burkina Faso

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...

 as Minister of Security from November 2000 to June 2007 and as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Cooperation

Foreign minister

A Minister of Foreign Affairs, or foreign minister, is a cabinet minister who helps form the foreign policy of a sovereign state. The foreign minister is often regarded as the most senior ministerial position below that of the head of government . It is often granted to the deputy prime minister in...

 from June 2007 to September 2008. Bassolé has been the Joint African Union

African Union

The African Union is a union consisting of 54 African states. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established on 9 July 2002, the AU was formed as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity...

-United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

 Chief Mediator for Darfur

War in Darfur

The Darfur Conflict was a guerrilla conflict or civil war centered on the Darfur region of Sudan. It began in February 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army and Justice and Equality Movement groups in Darfur took up arms, accusing the Sudanese government of oppressing non-Arab Sudanese in...

 since August 2008.

Bassolé was born in Nouna

Nouna

Nouna is a town of about 20,000 inhabitants located in the Province of Kossi in Burkina Faso. It is the capital of the Province. Nouna is a fairly developed town that boasts electricity, running water, land-line telephones, and cellular phones...

 and joined the military, rising through the ranks. He was a member of the International Committee for the monitoring of elections in Togo

Togo

Togo, officially the Togolese Republic , is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately with a population of approximately...

 from 1993 to 1994, and from 1994 to 1995 he was a member of the Mediation Committee working towards the resolution of the 1990–1995 Tuareg Rebellion in Niger

Niger

Niger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...

.

From January 11, 1999 to January 12, 2000, he served in the government of Burkina Faso as Deputy Minister in charge of Security. On November 12, 2000, he became Minister of Security, serving in that position until he was appointed as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Cooperation in the government of Prime Minister Tertius Zongo

Tertius Zongo

Tertius Zongo was the Prime Minister of Burkina Faso from June 2007 to April 2011.-Biography:Zongo was born in Koudougou. He has an extensive background in economics and accounting. He became Minister Delegate for Budget and Planning, under the Minister of the Economy, Finances, and Planning, in...

 on June 10, 2007; he replaced Youssouf Ouédraogo

Youssouf Ouédraogo

Youssouf Ouédraogo is a politician in Burkina Faso. In 1992 he became the first Prime Minister of Burkina Faso since 1983, serving from June 16, 1992 to March 22, 1994. From January 1999 to June 2007 he was the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs...

 as Foreign Minister.

On June 30, 2008, Bassolé was appointed as the Joint African Union-United Nations Chief Mediator for Darfur. Prior to taking up the post, he made a preparatory visit to Sudan

Sudan

Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...

 on July 20, meeting with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir

Omar al-Bashir

Lieutenant General Omar Hassan Ahmad Al-Bashir is the current President of Sudan and the head of the National Congress Party. He came to power in 1989 when he, as a brigadier in the Sudanese army, led a group of officers in a bloodless military coup that ousted the government of Prime Minister...

. During this visit, he said that he faced a difficult task in mediating between the Sudanese government and the Darfur rebels, but he said that it was "not mission impossible". Some believed that Bassolé's mission would be made more difficult by his inability to speak Arabic or English. Bassolé took up his post as Chief Mediator on August 1, 2008, and he was replaced as Burkinabé Foreign Minister in the government appointed on September 3, 2008.