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Lassina Zerbo

Lassina Zerbo is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Lassina Zerbo rather than just read about it. In short: Lassina Zerbo (born 10 October 1963) is a Burkinabé politician, scientist and diplomat. He served as the third Executive Secretary of the Preparatory Commission of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (OTICE/CTBTO) from 2013 to 2021 and Prime Minister of Burkina Faso under President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré from December 10, 2021, to January 24, 2022.

Lassina Zerbo — main illustration
Lassina Zerbo — illustration

Key takeaways

  • Lassina Zerbo belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect Lassina Zerbo to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of Lassina Zerbo from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Lassina Zerbo (born 10 October 1963) is a Burkinabé politician, scientist and diplomat. He served as the third Executive Secretary of the Preparatory Commission of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (OTICE/CTBTO) from 2013 to 2021 and Prime Minister of Burkina Faso under President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré from December 10, 2021, to January 24, 2022.

Biography

Early life and education Lassina Zerbo was born on October 10, 1963, in Bobo-Dioulasso, the capital of the Houet Province from Hauts-Bassins Region and the second-largest city in Burkina Faso. He grew up in an environment that from a very early stage favored his interest in the exact sciences. After completing his primary and secondary education, he moved to France to continue his university studies. He enrolled at the Paris-Sud University (Paris XI), where he specialized in Earth sciences. In 1993, he defended his doctoral thesis in geophysics. His doctoral research focuses on the application of electromagnetic methods to the study of the structures of the earth's crust, a technical expertise that will form the basis of his future international career.

Career

Early career Lassina Zerbo began his international career at BHP Minerals International where he obtained a position as a geophysics researcher, then as a geophysical project manager for the Africa programs in Virginia, United States, where he brought his scientific and technical expertise on all airborne electromagnetic system projects. In 1995, he joined the Anglo American Exploration Group as Divisional Principal Geophysicist for Africa, and was appointed Director of the Geophysical Division for Africa in 2001. In this position, he was responsible for all operations in Africa, keeping supervision over research and development for most projects in Africa, Asia and Australia.

Director of the International Data Center of the OTICE

In 2004, Lassina Zerbo was appointed director of the International Data Centre (ICD) of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (ICEI). He was at the forefront of managing nuclear testing issues carried out by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in 2006, 2009 and 2013. He oversaw the organization of Science and Technology conferences in 2011 and 2013, as well as the deployment of the vDEC (Virtual Data Exploitation Center) system, a portal that allows the scientific community to access the data of the International Monitoring System. In the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, Zerbo spearheaded technical discussions regarding the agreement on CTBTO technical assistance to tsunami warning centres. He served as the custodian of all technically sensitive information of the organization, which was called on following the earthquake, tsunami and Fukushima nuclear power plant accident in Japan in March 2011.

Executive Secretary of the CTBTO

From 2013 to 2021, Lassina Zerbo held, for two consecutive terms, the position of Executive Secretary of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (OTICE/CTBTO). During this period, he supervised the strengthening of the International Monitoring System (ISS), a global network of seismic, hydroacoustic, infrasound and radionuclide stations. Lassina Zerbo established the Eminent Personality Group (GEM) and the CTBTO Youth Group Network, two initiatives to maintain diplomatic and political engagement around the nuclear non-proliferation standard, to promote the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and to reinvigorate international efforts to achieve this. On the occasion of a large-scale field exercise, conducted in Jordan in 2014 (OSI Integrated Field Exercise), he demonstratex the operational capacity of the OTICE to conduct an on-site inspection and the successful stewardship of the Organization's mandate during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. After eight years at the head of the Executive Secretariat of the OTICE, Lassina Zerbo leaves office on July 31, 2021, in accordance with the statutes of the organization limiting the exercise of this function to two terms. He was replaced by Australian Robert Floyd on August 1, 2021, being the organization's fourth Executive Secretariat. Lassina Zerbo was appointed Prime Minister of Burkina Faso in December of the same year by Burkinabe President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré.

Prime Minister of Burkina Faso

Lassina Zerbo's entry on the national political scene was in a context of acute security and social crisis in Burkina Faso. On December 10, 2021, he was appointed Prime Minister by President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré. This appointment came shortly after the Inata attack, which aroused strong popular sentiment and led to the dismissal of the previous government. Perceived as a technocrat with an international stature, Zerbo's main mission was to restore state authority and reorganize the national defense strategy in the face of the growing terrorist threat. As soon as he took office, Lassina Zerbo showed a desire to break with the past by reducing state largesse. He formed a tight government, composed of 25 members compared to 34 previously, aiming for greater operational efficiency. His general policy speech focused on 'national cohesion" and the need for a multidimensional response to insecurity, combining military actions and socio-economic development projects in fragile areas. He also called for patriotic mobilization and unity of the political class. On January 24, 2022, just a few weeks after his appointment, a military coup led by Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba overthrew President Kaboré. This coup prematurely ends Zerbo's functions and dissolves his government and the National Assembly. The post of Prime Minister remains officially vacant under the direct direction of the junta until March 3, 2022 when he was replaced by economist Albert Ouédraogo. After being briefly placed under house arrest, like all members of the previous executive for security and procedural reasons, Lassina Zerbo was released from any restrictions and withdrew from Burkinabe's active political life to return to the international scene.

Other activities

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Lassina Zerbo illustration
Lassina Zerbo: The Executive Secretary of the OTICE, Lassina Zerbo, with the Prime Minister of Tuvalu, Enele Sopoaga, at the signing of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban-Treaty by the Tuvalu, on September 25, 2018.
The Executive Secretary of the OTICE, Lassina Zerbo, with the Prime Minister of Tuvalu, Enele Sopoaga, at the signing of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban-Treaty by the Tuvalu, on September 25, 2018.
Lassina Zerbo: Dr. Lassina Zerba at the meeting of the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to listen to the presentation of the four candidates for the post of Director General, held at the Agency's headquarters in Vienna, Austria.
Dr. Lassina Zerba at the meeting of the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to listen to the presentation of the four candidates for the post of Director General, held at the Agency's headquarters in Vienna, Austria.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Lassina Zerbo

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Lassina Zerbo claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Lassina Zerbo before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Lassina Zerbo ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Lassina Zerbo

In research
Lassina Zerbo appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses Lassina Zerbo in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
Lassina Zerbo is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1963 births, 20th-century Burkinabe people, 20th-century physicists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Lassina Zerbo outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Lassina Zerbo in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Lassina Zerbo means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain Lassina Zerbo out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Lassina Zerbo in simple terms?

Lassina Zerbo (born 10 October 1963) is a Burkinabé politician, scientist and diplomat. He served as the third Executive Secretary of the Preparatory Commission of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (OTICE/CTBTO) from 2013 to 2021 and Prime Minister of Burkina Faso under Preside…

Why does Lassina Zerbo matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Lassina Zerbo?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Lassina Zerbo.

Tags

  • 1963 births
  • 20th-century Burkinabe people
  • 20th-century physicists
  • 21st-century Burkinabe politicians
  • 21st-century physicists
  • BHP people
  • Burkinabe Muslims
  • Burkinabe expatriates in France
  • Burkinabe expatriates in the United States
  • Burkinabe scientists
  • Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty
  • Geophysicists

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