Military officer who seized power appointed as prime minister in Burkina Faso

The military officer who seized power in Burkina Faso after the ouster of President Blaise Compaoré last month was named on Wednesday as prime minister in a transitional government intended to steer the country to elections within a year.

The appointment of Lt. Col. Isaac Zida, 49, a senior officer in the presidential guard, seemed to run counter to the entreaties of the United States and other nations for military officers to return their to barracks and focus on what the State Department in Washington has called its “primary mission,” ensuring national security.

Colonel Zida emerged as the country’s army-backed leader after crowds burned down the Parliament building in late October and rampaged through the streets to protest a plan by Mr. Compaoré to change the Constitution and extend his 27-year rule.

Colonel Zida announced that he was suspending the Constitution and taking over, while Mr. Compaoré, who had come to power as an army officer in a coup in 1987, fled to neighboring Ivory Coast.

The military’s move met with opposition from Western countries, including the United States, and from the African Union, the continent’s main representative body, which threatened to impose sanctions unless power was returned to civilians.