List of coups and coup attempts

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

General Napoleon during the coup d'état of 18 Brumaire in Saint-Cloud, detail of painting by François Bouchot, 1840

This is a list of coups d'état and coup attempts, which either succeeded or failed. A list of revolutions and rebellions can be found here: list of revolutions and rebellions.

BC

The assassination of Caesar, as depicted by Vincenzo Camuccini.

• 509–Members of the Tarquin dynasty led by Lucius Junius Brutus overthrew King of Rome Lucius Tarquinius Superbus and established the Roman Republic.
• 87–During Sulla's first civil war, Lucius Cornelius Sulla invades Rome and deposes Gaius Marius.
• 82–In Sulla's second civil war, Sulla again marched on Rome, removed Gaius Marius the Younger, and proclaimed himself as Roman dictator.
• 49–Julius Caesar illegally crossed the river Rubicon heading part of the Roman army and marched on Rome. After assuming control of government, he was proclaimed "dictator in perpetuity".
• 44–On the Ides of March, Julius Caesar was assassinated by members of the Roman Senate. The conspirators did not gain control of the Roman Republic, instead, power eventually passed to the Second Triumvirate of Caesar supporters.

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1000–1799

General Yi Seong-gye, later crowned Taejo of Joseon.

• 1010: General Gang Jo of Goryeo stages a coup that overthrew King Mokjong.
• 1126: Yi Ja-gyeom of Goryeo makes a failed attempt to overthrow King Injong.
• 1170: General Jeong Jung-bu of Goryeo led a military coup that deposed King Uijong and installed puppet king Myeongjong under military regime.
• 1197: Choe Chung-heon of Goryeo stages a military coup that ousted and killed military dictator Yi Ui-Min, and deposed King Myeongjong.
• 1258: General Kim Jun of Goryeo overthrows and kills then-military dictator Choe Ui.
• 1388: General Yi Seong-gye of Goryeo led a military coup that deposed King U, murdered General Choe Young, and installed puppet ruler King Chang and eventually King Gongyang. Yi later crowned himself, starting Joseon Dynasty.
• 1398: Prince Yi Bangwon of Joseon leads a coup that murdered Prime Minister Jeong Dojeon and two other princes.
• 1455: Prince Suyang of Joseon leads a coup that ousted the government of Prime Minister Hwangbo In and Kim Jong Seo, whom were killed during the coup.
• 1506: A coup d'état in Joseon overthrew Prince Yeonsan and places King Jungjong on the throne.
• 1605: On November 5, a group of provincial English Catholics led by Guy Fawkes attempted to kill King James I and much of the Protestant aristocracy by blowing up the Houses of Parliament during the State Opening of Parliament.
• 1623: A coup d'état in Joseon overthrew Prince Gwanghae and places King Injong on the throne.
• 1648: Pride's Purge-MPs who wished to continue political negotiations with Charles I were ejected from the House of Commons. Those remaining-known as the Rump-went on to agree that the king should be put on trial for his life.
• 1660: Frederick III of Denmark stages a coup in Copenhagen that institutes absolute monarchy in the country.
• 1688: Glorious Revolution: the Catholic James II was deposed by a faction favorable to the Protestant William of Orange. The opponents of the change became known as Jacobites from Jacobus, the Latin for James. Others see the event as a successful invasion and takeover by the Dutch Republic.
• 1689: Boston Revolt: In an action described by some as a "putsch," the Puritan militia, assisted by a Bostonian mob, arrests Sir Edmund Andros. Andros was the unpopular governor of the Dominion of New England.
• 1756: Louisa Ulrika of Prussia, Queen of Sweden, attempts to strengthen royal power.
• 1769: Ras Mikael Sehul deposes Emperor Iyoas I of Ethiopia then kills him, in a demonstration of power over the Ethiopian Throne. This action ushers in the Zemene Mesafint ("Era of the Princes"), a lengthy period of civil war and anarchy in Ethiopia.
• 1772: A coup led by Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and her son Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Denmark and Norway deposed the ruling cabinet minister Johann Friedrich Struensee.
• 1772: Coup by Gustavus III, in order to strengthen royal power in the Swedish Constitution of 1772
• 1784: Coup by the crown prince Frederick of Denmark against the ruling cabinet led by Ove Høegh-Guldberg.
• 1793: A coup by Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt, in companionship with Magdalena Rudenschöld, with the intent to depose the guardian government of Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden, is exposed.
• 1794: Coup de 9 Thermidor by members of the Committee of Public Safety against Robespierre.
• 1799: Coup de 18 Brumaire by Napoléon Bonaparte.

1800–1899

Benito Juárez, after whom Benito Mussolini was named, took part himself in a coup.

• 1804: Napoleon Bonaparte becomes Emperor of France by a coup d'état.
• 1808: Rum Rebellion in New South Wales deposes Governor William Bligh.
• 1809: A few army officers depose king Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden, while an army is marching on Stockholm.
• 1809: Danish adventurer Jørgen Jørgensen arrests governor of Iceland and declares himself 'Protector', two months later English Warship HMS Talbot restores Danish government.
• 1828: Unitarian Juan Lavalle deposes and executes federalist Manuel Dorrego as governor of Buenos Aires.
• 1829: Anastasio Bustamante overthrows and murders Vicente Guerrero in Mexico.
• 1832: Mexican president Anastasio Bustamante deposed for the first time by Antonio López de Santa Anna, replaced by Melchor Múzquiz.
• 1839: Mexican president Anastasio Bustamante deposed for the second time by Antonio López de Santa Anna
• 1842: Francisco Morazán, former Federal President of Central America, invaded Costa Rica and seized power. Later to be deposed by popular uprising and executed.
• 1851: the president of France, Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte dissolves the Assembly and becomes the sole ruler of the country. In the following year, he would restore the Empire by referendum.
• 1854: Following the Plan of Ayutla, Benito Juárez deposes Santa Anna and installs Juan Álvarez as President of Mexico.
• 1864: Troops of French Emperor Napoleon III invade Mexico and install Habsburg pretender Maximilian as Emperor.
• 1866: Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza of Romania is forced to abdicate by a political and military coalition.
• 1867: By compulsion of Satchō Alliance, Tokugawa shogunate returned political power to Emperor Meiji.
• 1870: Bruno Carranza came to power in Costa Rica in the coup d'état of 27 April 1870 that deposed President Jesús Jiménez Zamora. He resigned three months later.
• 1874: Arsenio Martínez Campos overthrows the First Spanish Republic and installs Alfonso XII as king.
• 1876: Aniceto Esquivel Sáenz was President of Costa Rica for a brief period of three months in 1876 before being deposed in a coup d'état led by Vicente Herrera Zeledón.
• 1876: Following the Plan of Tuxtepec, Porfirio Díaz overthrows Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada and installs himself as President of Mexico.
• 1889: a military coup led by Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca deposes the Brazilian Emperor, Dom Pedro II, proclaims the Republic and installs a provisional government.
• 1891: The President of Brazil, Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca dissolved the National Congress and declared himself Dictator but soon after resigned after the Navy rebellion.
• 1893: With the aid of U.S. Marines, U.S. Department of State Minister to the Kingdom of Hawaii, John L. Stevens backs businessmen of native and foreign nationality in a coup that deposes Queen Lili'uokalani.
• 1898: Wilmington Insurrection of 1898
• 1899: Cipriano Castro's army overthrows the government of Ignacio Andrade in Venezuela.

1900–1909

1903

• The Black Hand group, composed of military officers and led by Col. Dragutin Dimitrijević Apis, killed Alexander I of Serbia in coup d'état named Majski Prevrat (May Overthrow)

1908

• Juan Vicente Gómez declares himself president of Venezuela after Cipriano Castro leaves for Europe to receive medical treatment.
• The Young Turk Revolution breaks out in the Ottoman Empire against the absolute rule of Sultan Abdul Hamid II.

1909

• The Goudi coup in Greece overthrows the Dimitrios Rallis government and calls for wide-ranging reforms.

1910–1919

Citizens throng around The Citadel (La ciudadela) building during La decena tragica in 1913.

1910

• A republican coup d'état deposes King Manuel II of Portugal and establishes the Portuguese First Republic.

1913

• Military coup in Ottoman Empire led by Enver Pasha, the Committee of Union and Progress overthrew the Liberal Union coalition and introduced a military dictatorship, led by the Three Pashas. (Coup d'état of 1913).
• During La decena tragica, General Victoriano Huerta overthows and murders the president of Mexico, Francisco Madero.

1916

• While touring the city of Harar, Lij Iyasu V was deposed by a cabal of aristocrats in favor of his aunt Zewditu I. Forces loyal to him are defeated at Segale, and Lij Iyasu wanders northwestern Ethiopia with a small band of loyal followers until captured five years later.

1917

• In Costa Rica, President Alfredo González Flores was overthrown in a coup d'état led by General José Federico Alberto de Jesús Tinoco Granados and established a repressive military dictatorship.
• In Russia, August 1917, the Russian Commander-in-Chief General Kornilov attempted a Putsch, which was rapidly defeated.

1919

• István Friedrich overthrows the Hungarian Soviet Republic.
• Polish right-wing unsuccessfully tries to overthrow the left-wing government.

1920–1929

Benito Mussolini and Fascist Blackshirts during the March on Rome. Mussolini stayed out of most of the march.

Defendants in the Beer Hall Putsch trial. Ludendorff is fifth from the left, with Hitler to the right. Ernst Röhm is to the right and in front of Hitler. Note that only two of the defendants, Hitler and Frick, were dressed in civilian clothing.

Piłsudski and other leaders of the May Coup on Poniatowski Bridge in Warsaw.

1920

• In the Plan of Agua Prieta, General Álvaro Obregón, backed by labor unions and Zapatistas, ousts Mexican President Venustiano Carranza.
• The Kapp Putsch, a failed attempt to overthrow Germany's Weimar Republic by the Marinebrigade Ehrhardt.
• The 1920 Georgian coup attempt, futile efforts by the Bolsheviks to overthrow the Democratic Republic of Georgia with the help of the Soviet Russian Red Army.

1921

• Colonel Reza Khan with Zia'eddin Tabatabaee launch a coup against Ahmad Shah Qajar in Iran.

1922

• Following the defeat in the Asia Minor Campaign, Venizelist army officers, chief amongst them Nikolaos Plastiras and Stylianos Gonatas, lead the Greek Army in revolt against the royal government and force the renewed abdication of King Constantine I of Greece.
• A failed coup d'état attempt in Albania led by Bajram Curri, Elez Isufi, Hamit Toptani and Halit Lleshi.
• Between October 27 and 29, the March on Rome by the Blackshirts led to the installation of Benito Mussolini of the National Fascist Party as prime minister of the Kingdom of Italy, supported by King Victor Emmanuel III. After the election of 1924 and the assassination of Giacomo Matteotti, Mussolini established a dictatorship on January 3, 1925.

1923

• Miguel Primo de Rivera installs a dictatorship in Spain without overthrowing the king.
• In Bulgaria, the military-backed 9 June coup d'état overthrows the Bulgarian Agrarian National Union of Aleksandar Stamboliyski, installing one headed by Aleksandar Tsankov.
• The Beer Hall Putsch, a failed coup attempt by Nazi party leader Adolf Hitler in Germany.
• The royalist Leonardopoulos-Gargalidis coup attempt fails in Greece.

1924

• Chilean President Arturo Alessandri resigns and flees after the army, led by Luis Altamirano, heads a coup.
• Unsuccessful pro-Communist coup in Estonia.
• "June Revolution of 1924", in fact a coup d'état overthrew the pro-Ahmet Zogu government and established a leftist government led by Fan Noli. In the Christmas Eve of that year, Zogu returned in power while Noli and his government fled from country.

1925

• General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo and Colonel Marmaduque Grove depose the military ruler of Chile, Luis Altamirano. They later allow former president Arturo Alessandri to return to Chile.
• General Theodoros Pangalos seizes power in a coup in Athens, Greece.

1926

• May Coup of Józef Piłsudski in Poland.
• 28th May military coup of Gomes da Costa in Portugal.
• 1926 Lithuanian coup d'état of Antanas Smetona in Lithuania
• The dictatorship of General Theodoros Pangalos in Greece is overthrown by General Georgios Kondylis

1928

• Uprising by Ras Balcha Safo against King Tafari Makonnen (the future Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia); the uprising never amounted to more than a show of force and was put down decisively by Ras Kassa Haile Darge; Balcha Safo surrendered and was imprisoned.
• Ethiopian coup d'état of 1928 against King Tafari Makonnen (the future Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia); the coup d'état ended in failure.

1930–1939

March in support of the proclamation of the Socialist Republic of Chile, in front of La Moneda Palace (June 12, 1932).

1st Lt. Niu Yoshitada and his rebel troops in the February 26th Incident.

1930

• Uprising by Ras Gugsa Welle against King Tafari Makonnen (the future Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia) put down decisively at the Battle of Anchem by the Minister of War, Ras Mulugeta Yeggazu.
• Getúlio Vargas takes power in Brazil, in a bloodless coup.
• Rafael Leónidas Trujillo takes from Horacio Vásquez, in the Dominican Republic after a devastating hurricane.
• Military coup in Argentina. General José Félix Uriburu overthrew President Hipólito Yrigoyen.

1932

• The Mäntsälä Rebellion, failed coup attempt by the Lapua Movement in Finland.
• The May 15th Incident, an attempted coup in Japan.
• The Siamese coup d'état of 1932 marks the bloodless transition from absolute monarchy to constitutional monarchy in what is now called Thailand.
• The Chilean military heads a coup, which deposes President Juan Esteban Montero and creates the Socialist Republic of Chile. After twelve days, other army officers head a counter-coup and end the Socialist Republic. The new provisional president, Abraham Oyanedel, restores democracy.

1933

• The President of Uruguay, Gabriel Terra dissolves Parliament and heads a coup.
• Fulgencio Batista of Cuba ousts Carlos Manuel de Céspedes y Quesada in the "Sergeants' Revolt".
• The Business Plot against the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States is planned, but not carried out due to General Smedley Butler's decision to report it to the authorities.

1934

• Coup of Konstantin Päts in Estonia.
• Coup of Kārlis Ulmanis in Latvia.
• 25 July failed coup attempt in the First Austrian Republic by Austrian Nazis, the so called July Putsch (German: Juliputsch), resulting in the assassination of the chancellor Engelbert Dollfuß
• 19 May coup d'état in the Kingdom of Bulgaria.

1935

• Failed Venizelist coup attempt on 1 March in Greece
• In an internal coup in Mexico, President Lazaro Cardenas deports and exiles ex-President Plutarco Elias Calles, effectively ending Calles' control over the Mexican government.
• On 10 October, General Georgios Kondylis deposes government and abolishes the Republic, restoring the Greek monarchy.

1936

• Xi'an Incident, General Chiang Kai-shek was kidnapped by his deputy Zhang Xueliang, who demanded that Chiang stop fighting the Chinese Communists and instead agree to a united resistance against the Japanese. His wife's and her brother's subsequent negotiation with Zhang ensured Chiang's release.
• Part of the army seizes control of parts of Spain commencing the Spanish Civil War. Later General Francisco Franco assumes control of the country as dictator.
• The February 26th Incident, a failed coup attempt in Japan by junior military officers that did succeed in installing a militarist government.
• Coup of Ioannis Metaxas in Greece on August 4, and establishment of the 4th of August Regime.
• October 30 coup of Bakr Sidqi and Hikmat Sulayman in the Kingdom of Iraq to depose Prime Minister Yasin al-Hashimi.

1937

• Brazilian president Getúlio Vargas, governing democratically since 1934, launches a self-coup and becomes the Dictator of Brazilian Estado Novo ("New State").

1938

• Vargas forces detected the attempted Integralista coup in Brazil. Vargas and guards shoot it out with insurgents at the Guanabara Palace.

1939

• A coup by military officers and PSOE members in the Republican zone of Spain results in the formation of the National Council of Defense as a step towards a negotiated peace with the Nationalists. The negotiations eventually fail, but the coup signals the end of the Spanish Civil War.

1940–1949

The conference room where Hitler survived the July 20 Plot after the explosion.

1940

• The Norwegian fascist politician Vidkun Quisling attempts to overthrow the Norwegian government in response to the German invasion of Denmark and Norway.
• Soviet organised coups during the occupation of the Baltic States: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania
• Juan Andreu Almazan attempts a coup to prevent the inauguration of Mexican president elect Manuel Avila Camacho.

1941

• Pro-German Rashid Ali Al-Gaylani and the Golden Square overthrew the regime of the Pro-British Regent 'Abd al-Ilah (1941 Iraqi coup d'état) leading to the Anglo-Iraqi War.
• Pro-British King Peter II and his supporters staged a coup in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia to replace pro-German Regent Prince Paul leading to the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia.

1942

• French resistance coup in Algiers, by which 400 Civil French patriots neutralized Vichyst XIXth Army Corps in Algiers during 15 hours, arrested vichyst generals (Juin, Darlan, etc.), and so allowed the immediate success of Operation Torch.

1943

• Military coup in Argentina on June 4. Arturo Rawson overthrew Ramón Castillo. Juan Domingo Perón, in the Department of Labor, would became so popular that he was democratically elected in 1946.
• The 24 July coup to remove Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini as Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Italy and replace him with Marshal Pietro Badoglio; Count Dino Grandi and the Grand Council of Fascism voted overwhelmingly to ask King Victor Emmanuel to resume his full constitutional powers and, on the following day, the King summoned Mussolini to his palace and dismissed him.

1944

• 20 July plot launched by German resistance and German Reserve Army as part of Operation Valkyrie to kill Adolf Hitler and seize control of the Third Reich so to negotiate peace with the Allies. The coup fails after it is found Hitler did not die in the bomb blast and the Reserve Army begins to refuse to take orders from the German resistance. 5000 conspirator are given show trials and summarily executed.
• King Michael's Coup on 23 August; pro-German dictator Ion Antonescu was overthrown and King Michael of Romania switched nation from the Axis side to the Allies.
• The 9 September coup d'état in Bulgaria; the government of pro-German Prime Minister Konstantin Muraviev was overthrown and Kimon Georgiev of the Fatherland Front switched the nation from the Axis side to the Allies.
• Operation Panzerfaust in October; Nazi Germany forcefully replaced the royalist Hungarian government of Regent Miklós Horthy with the pro-Nazi government of Arrow Cross leader Ferenc Szálasi.

1945

• Getúlio Vargas's government in Brazil ends in a coup led by General Mourão, one of his former supporters.
• Isaías Medina Angarita is overthrown in a coup and Rómulo Betancourt is appointed to lead a civilian-military junta in Venezuela.

1947

• Coup in Thailand; the ouster of Thawal Thamrong Navaswadhi and the return of Plaek Pibulsonggram.
• Communist coup in Romania. King Michael is forced to abdicate and leave the country.

1948

• Communist coup in Czechoslovakia.
• Coup overthrows the democratically elected government of Rómulo Gallegos in Venezuela. A military junta is installed with Carlos Delgado Chalbaud as its leader.
• Failed coup attempt in Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen

1949

• Military coup in Syria by general Husni al-Za'im against president Shukri al-Quwatli.

1950–1959

Events of 1953 Iranian coup d'état.

1951

• Unsuccessful military coup (Navy) in Thailand.
• Successful military coup (Army) in Thailand.
• "Rawalpindi conspiracy" unsuccessful military coup attempt in Pakistan by Ayub Khan.
• Unsuccessful military coup in Argentina against Juan Domingo Perón

1952

• Military coup in Egypt overthrows the monarchy.
• Fulgencio Batista with U.S. support leads successful and bloodless coup to topple democratically elected government of Cuba.

1953

• United States/U.K. coup in Iran codenamed Operation Ajax, against the democratically-elected government of Prime Minister Mohammed Mosaddeq. The coup launched 25 years of dictatorship under Mohammad-Rezā Shāh Pahlavi, who relied heavily on U.S. support to hold on to power until the Shah himself was overthrown in February 1979.
• "Constitutional Coup" in Pakistan by Governor-General of Pakistan, Ghulam Mohammad supported by Field Marshal Ayub Khan. Mohammad dismissed the Prime Minister and dissolved the Constituent Assembly.

1954

• In Guatemala, the democratically-elected government of Coronel Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán was ousted by Coronel Carlos Castillo Armas in an operation organized by the American Central Intelligence Agency codenamed Operation PBSUCCESS.
• Military coup in Paraguay with U.S. support.
• Military coup in Yanaon (French Colony in India) led by Dadala Raphael Ramanayya, overthrown French rule in Yanaon.

1955

• A counter-coup in Brazil led by Marshal Lott with U.S. support overthrown the two-days-long legal government of Carlos Luz and prevents a coup against the elected president Juscelino Kubitschek.
• Revolución Libertadora in Argentina were a military coup overthrows President Juan Domingo Perón

1956

• Unsuccessful military coup attempt led by Colonel Ramón Barquín against Cuban President Fulgencio Batista

1957

• The Colombian military supported strikes and student riots and deposed Gustavo Rojas Pinilla, giving power to the Colombian Military Junta and chairman Gabriel París Gordillo.
• Quasi-coup leads to the coexistence of two governments in San Marino for a month (so-called "Fatti di Rovereta").
• Coup in Thailand; ouster of Plaek Pibulsonggram.

1958

• Following failed attempts by American-trained air-force pilots in Venezuela to overthrow Marcos Pérez Jiménez by bombing his palace, student riots broke out in Caracas. After three weeks of protests, the military removed Jimenez and installed Wolfgang Larrazábal, commander of the Venezuelan Navy.
• Military coup in Pakistan. Army Chief and Defence Minister Gen. Ayub Khan overthrows the government of Iskander Mirza and becomes President after a winning a rigged referendum.
• Military coup in Iraq overthrows the monarchy.
• Military coup in France. General Jacques Massu takes over Algiers and threatens to invade Paris unless Charles de Gaulle becomes head of state.

1959

• Air Force military hijack a civil airplane and attempt a coup against Juscelino Kubitschek, in Brazil

1960–1969

1960

• Military coup in Turkey.
• Military coup in Democratic Republic of the Congo.
• Failed military coup against Haile Selassie I in Ethiopia

1961

• The coup d'état of 16 May in South Korea led by Park Chung Hee. Overthrew Second Republic of South Korea and established the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction.
• Failed military coup in France in the midst of the Algerian War by four retired army generals seeking to overthrow president Charles de Gaulle, that himself came to power through the 1958 military coup d'état.

1962

• Military coup in Argentina. President Arturo Frondizi was overthrown by the military while abroad.
• The military overthrew President Juan Bosch, the first democratically elected president in the Dominican Republic since 1924. Bosch was replaced by a junta until it was overthrown in 1965.
• Military coup in Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen
• Attempted military coup led by Christian officers in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka).
• Military coup in Burma by General Ne Win overthrow the constitutionally elected government of Prime Minister U Nu.

1963

• Miguel Ydígoras Fuentes of Guatemala is overthrown by the military. Enrique Peralta Azurdia took power and established the Institutional Democratic Party until elections took place in 1966.
• Failed military coup attempt in Turkey.
• Military coup in South Vietnam, overthrowing Ngo Dinh Diem with U.S. support.
• Military coup in Ecuador.
• Military coup in Togo.
• Military coup in Syria.
• A military coup in Iraq, carried out by Baathist leaders in Baghdad, overthrew the regime of Gen. Abd al-Karim Qasim, the General himself being captured and shot.

1964

• Humberto Castelo Branco was installed as president after a military coup in Brazil overthrew João Goulart.
• Vice President René Barrientos and General Alfredo Ovando Candía of Bolivia overthrew President Víctor Paz Estenssoro.
• Military coup in South Vietnam, overthrowing Duong Van Minh.

1965

• Military coup in Algeria Defense minister Col. Houari Boumedienne takes over .
• Failed military coup attempt in Indonesia.
• Military coup in Democratic Republic of the Congo.
• Military coup in Central African Republic.

1966

• Military coup in Ghana.
• Military coup in Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso).
• Military coup in Syria.
• The first of Military Coups in Nigeria, leading to end of first republic. Major-General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi becomes Head of State.
• Shakhbut Bin-Sultan Al Nahyan, the ruler of the Abu Dhabi was deposed in a bloodless coup, being replaced by his brother Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
• Military coup in Nigeria. Yakubu Gowon comes to power by overthrowing Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi.
• Military coup in Argentina. Civilian president Arturo Illia is overthrown by military forces supporting the leadership of General Juan Carlos Onganía.
• Alleged coup attempt in Sri Lanka.

1967

• Military coup in Greece. See Greek military junta of 1967–1974.
• Attempted military coup (Operation Guitar Boy) in Ghana.
• Military coup in Togo leads to thirty-eight year rule of Gnassingbé Eyadéma
• Military coup against Prime Minister of Sierra Leone, Siaka Stevens and Governor-General of Sierra Leone, by Brigadier David Lansana who declares himseld interim leader.

1968

• Coup in Panama against President of Panama Arnulfo Arias Madrid, led by General Omar Torrijos.
• Coup in Iraq returns the Ba'ath Party to power.
• Military coup in Perú, led by General Juan Velasco Alvarado.
• "Sargents Coup": Military coup against Brigadier David Lansana by Brigadier Andrew Juxon-Smith restores Siaka Stevens as Prime Minister.

1969

• Colonel Qadhafi overthrows monarchy in Libya.
• Military coup in Somalia.
• Military Coup in the Sudan.
• Pedro Aleixo, the legal vice-president of Brasil, is replaced by a Military Junta after Artur da Costa e Silva leaves the office due to a stroke.
• Military coup in Pakistan, Army Chief Gen. Yahya Khan forces President Field Marshal Ayub Khan (who himself came to power in a coup) to hand over power to him.

1970–1979

1970

• Coup in Syria, led by Hafez al-Assad (Corrective Revolution)
• Coup in Bolivia with U.S. support, soon followed by a leftist countercoup.
• Coup in Oman, Qaboos bin Said ousts his father Said bin Taimur to become Sultan.
• Coup attempt in Italy by fascist groups.(Golpe Borghese).
• Coup attempt in Japan by the Tatenokai.

1971

• Military coup in Turkey (Coup by Memorandum).
• Military coup in Uganda led by Idi Amin.
• Prime Minister Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn launches a self-coup overthrow his own government in Thailand.
• A short-lived military coup in Sudan against the government of Gaafar Nimeiry.

1972

• Colonel Ignatius Kutu Acheampong led a coup d'état to overthrow the democratically elected government of the Progress Party and its leader Dr. Kofi Busia on 13 January 1972 in Ghana.

1973

• In June Roberto Souper launch a failed coup, called Tanquetazo, against Chilean president Salvador Allende.
• The Attock Conspiracy took place in Pakistan, whereby a handful of Army and Air-Force officers plotted, unsuccessfully, to overthrow the government of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.
• On September 11 a military coup with U.S. support succeeds in installing a junta headed by Augusto Pinochet in Chile.
• President Juan María Bordaberry of Uruguay dissolves Parliament and heads a coup.
• on 25 November, Army hardliners led by Brigadier Dimitrios Ioannidis overthrow the hitherto leader of the Greek junta, President Georgios Papadopoulos.

1974

• A leftist military coup in Portugal, the Carnation Revolution, ends the dictatorship of Marcello Caetano.
• Military coup in Cyprus sponsored by Greek colonels overthrows Makarios and triggers invasion by Turkey.
• Military coup in Ethiopia by the communist junta led by General Aman Andom and Mengistu Haile Mariam.

1975

• Military coup in Bangladesh. Several young Majors in support of General Ziaur Rahman overthrow the government of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and set Khondaker Mustaq Ahmed as the head of the state.
• Military coup in the Comoros; mercenary Bob Denard removes president Ahmed Abdallah from office in an armed coup on August 3, 1975,
• Military coup in Nigeria overthrows Yakubu Gowon. Murtala Ramat Mohammed comes to power.
• Military coup in Bangladesh led by Brigadier Khaled Mosharraf, arrests Army Chief Of Staff Ziaur Rahman. 4 days later, Khaled Mosharraf was killed in a counter-coup led by Abu Taher, which frees General Ziaur Rahman & restores him as the Army Chief of Staff. After a month General Ziaur Rahman betray with Abu Taher and killed him and become the President of Bangladesh
• Military coup in Chad overthrows and kills President François Tombalbaye.
• Failed military coup in Greece

1976

• Military coup in Ecuador.
• Marshall Ye Jianying and political leader Hua Guofeng stage a coup against the Gang of Four, led by Chairman Mao Zedong's widow, Jiang Qing and leading to the return of Deng Xiaoping and the launch of China's reform era.
• Military coup in Thailand.
• Failed coup attempt in Nigeria. Murtala Ramat Mohammed killed but Olusegun Obasanjo escapes assassination and becomes head of state.
• Military coup in Argentina overthrows Isabel Martínez de Perón and leads to the Proceso de Reorganización Nacional.

1977

• Military coup in Pakistan with U.S. support. Army Chief Gen. Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq overthrows the civilian government and hangs Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in 1979 after a sham trial.
• 21 Failed coup is occurred during the time of General Ziaur Rahman in Bangladesh. General Ziaur Rahman killed 2500 soldiers and officer (Army, Air Force, Navy) for these failed coups.
• In 1977, a successful coup d'état in the Seychelles ousted the first president of the republic, James Mancham, replacing him with France Albert René.

1978

• Communist coup in Afghanistan.
• Attempting a coup in Somalia, a group of officials mainly from the Majeerteen (Darod) clan, failed to overthrow the dictatorial administration under Siad Barre. Most of the people who had helped plot the coup were summarily executed however prominent officials including Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed survived and formed the first resistance group against Barre known as the Somali Salvation Democratic Front.

1979

• Attempted coup in Iran, backed by the US to overthrow Interim government which came to power after the Iranian Revolution
• The Coup d'état of December Twelfth in South Korea. Chun Doo-hwan established presidentship.
• On 4 June, Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings, Maj. Boakye Danquah and others lead a military uprising that removes the Ghanaian government of Gen. FWK Akuffo from power after an earlier unsuccessful attempt in May.
• Central African emperor Jean-Bédel Bokassa was overthrown in the coup Operation Barracuda led by France on September 20. The Central African Empire was dissolved and the Central African Republic was restored with David Dacko being the president.

1980–1989

1980

• 'Cocaine Coup' in Bolivia of Luis García Meza Tejada.
• Military coup in Turkey.
• Military coup in Liberia, led by Master Sergeant Samuel K. Doe, overthrows government led by President William R. Tolbert, ending 102 years of continuous rule by the True Whig Party.
• Military coup in Guinea Bissau.
• Successful coup in Suriname by military officers led by Dési Bouterse that resulted in military rule until 1988.

1981

• Failed coup in Spain led by Antonio Tejero.
• Failed coup in The Gambia led by Kukoi Sanyang; suppressed by Dawda Jawara with the assistance of Senegalese troops
• Failed Military coup attempt in Bangladesh killed Ziaur Rahman.
• Failed coup in Suriname, led by Wilfred Hawker
• On September 1, Central African president David Dacko is overthrown in a bloodless coup by the army chief of staff General André Kolingba.
• 31 December, Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings stages a second successful military coup in Ghana overthrowing Dr. Hilla Limann's constitutional government.
• Failed coup in Seychelles led by Mike Hoare.
• Successful military coup in Poland led by Wojciech Jaruzelski.

1982

• Military coup in Bangladesh by General Hossain Mohammad Ershad overthrows the constitutionally elected government of President Abdus Sattar.
• Failed coup in Kenya by some members of the Kenya Air Force.
• Failed coup in Suriname, led by Surendre Rambocus.

1983

• Military palace coup in Nigeria. Second republic president Shagari overthrown; Muhammadu Buhari takes power.
• Military coup in Grenada by Hudson Austin and counter-coup and invasion with U.S. support.

1984

• Failed coup in Cameroon by some members of the Presidential Guard.
• Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya rises to power in Mauritania after a coup that overthrows the president Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla.
• Coup in Guinea brings Lansana Conte to power.

1985

• Military coup in Uganda led by Bazilio Olara-Okello and Tito Okello.
• Military coup in Nigeria. Ibrahim Babangida replaces Muhammadu Buhari.
• Military coup in Sudan led by Abdel Rahman Swar al-Dahab (see Transitional Military Council)

1986

• Failed coup in Philippines led by Juan Ponce Enrile and Gregorio Honasan. This leads to events of February 22–25, 1986, better known as the People Power Revolution.

1987

• Failed military coup attempt in Argentina against President Raúl Alfonsín: in April several barracks led by the Carapintada movement of Aldo Rico uprose
• Failed coup attempt, known as the August 1987 Coup, in the Philippines led by Col. Gregorio Honasan.
• Bloodless military coup in Fiji led by Lt. Col. Sitiveni Rabuka overthrows the government of Prime Minister Timoci Bavadra. After temporarily handing power to a council of ministers, in September that year Rabuka seized control of the country again and deposed Queen Elizabeth II as head of state, and declared Fiji a republic.
• On October 15 in Burkina Faso, Persident Thomas Sankara was assassinated in a coup.
• Bloodless Palace coup in Tunisia led by Prime Minister General Zine El Abidine Ben Ali overthrow President Habib Bourguiba.

1988

• Military coup in Burma crushing the 'Four Eights' uprising.
• Failed military coup attempt in Argentina against President Raúl Alfonsín: in January at Monte Caseros led by the Carapintada movement of Aldo Rico
• Failed military coup attempt in Argentina against President Raúl Alfonsín: in December at Villa Martelli led by the Carapintada movement of Mohamed Alí Seineldín
• June 1988 Haitian coup d'état (Henri Namphy overthrowing Leslie Manigat)
• September 1988 Haitian coup d'état (Prosper Avril overthrowing Henri Namphy)

1989

• Failed coup attempt in the Philippines, by Col. Gregorio Honasan. This coup is sometimes called the December 1989 Coup.
• Failed coup attempt in Ethiopia by senior army officers against the regime of Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam.
• Successful coup in Paraguay against Alfredo Stroessner led by Andres Rodríguez.
• Failed coup attempt in Panama against Manuel Noriega led by Moises Giroldi.

1990–1999

File:1991coup2 ST.jpg

Mass demonstration in Moscow against the 1991 coup attempt

1990

• Failed coup attempt in Nigeria led by Major Gideon Orkar.
• Failed coup attempt in Trinidad & Tobago led by Jamaat al Muslimeen leader Yasin Abu Bakr (July 27)
• Failed coup attempt in Argentina against President Carlos Saúl Menem led by the Carapintada movement of Mohamed Alí Seineldín (December 3)
• Failed coup attempt in Panama against President Guillermo Endara.
• Military coup in Chad. Hissène Habré is deposed by rebel leader Idriss Deby.

1991

• Failed coup attempt (the so-called August Putsch) in the Soviet Union.
• In Haiti the U.S.-backed armed group FRAPH oust democratically elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in a military coup d'état in September 1991. Aristide is replaced with a military junta led by Raoul Cédras until U.S. President Clinton orders Aristide's return to resume his mandate as president.
• Military coup in Thailand. Results in infamous incident Black May.
• Military coup in Georgia removes President Zviad Gamsakhurdia from office.
• Military coup in Mali removes Moussa Traoré from office.

1992

• Military coup in Algeria cancels elections and forces President Chadli Bendjedid to resign.
• President Alberto Fujimori launches a self-coup in Peru.
• Unsuccessful militar coup in Perú, of General Jaime Salinas Sedó against Alberto Fujimori.
• Two unsuccessful coup d'état attempts in Venezuela against Carlos Andrés Pérez, in February and November; the first led by Hugo Chávez
• Valentine Strasser takes power following a coup in Sierra Leone

1993

• Russian President Boris Yeltsin successfully launches a self-coup, illegally dissolving the Russian parliament.
• Guatemalan President Jorge Serrano Elias unsuccessfully launches a self-coup (1993 Guatemalan constitutional crisis), illegally dissolving the Guatemalan Parliament and Supreme Court, but the Guatemalan Constitutional Court in an official statement immediately removes Elias from office for violating the Guatemalan constitutional order.
• Overthrow of president Abulfaz Elchibey of Azerbaijan.

1994

• Military coup in The Gambia.

1995

• Failed coup attempt in Azerbaijan.

1996

• Military coup in Burundi; Pierre Buyoya deposes Sylvestre Ntibantunganya.

1997

• Military-backed indirect coup in Turkey. It was named a "postmodern coup" by one of the top-ranking generals. Although the parliament was not dissolved, the military pressure resulted in the Prime Minister's resignation.

1998

• In Albania, the funeral of Azem Hajdari turns violent as the Prime Minister's Office is attacked, obliging Fatos Nano to hastily flee and step down shortly after. His party remains in power.

1999

• Military coup in Pakistan. Army refuses to obey Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's government. General Pervez Musharraf becomes president (with the title "Chief Executive") and exiles Sharif to Saudi Arabia allegedly on a self-exile ten-year contract of not participating in politics, after he was convicted of hijacking and sentenced to life imprisonment.
• Military coup in Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), the first coup since the independence of Côte d'Ivoire.

2000–2009

Tanks in Bangkok's street in 2006

2000

• 2000 Ecuadorean coup d'état. On January 21, indigenous Ecuadorians protested the economic policies of President Jamil Mahuad. Colonel Lucio Gutiérrez allowed the protesters to take over the National Congress. A junta brieftly took power, but within hours Vice President Gustavo Noboa regained control, with support of the protestors. Gutiérrez was elected president in 2002 as a member of the January 21 Patriotic Society Party.
• George Speight attempted a coup against the prime minister of Fiji, Mahendra Chaudhry.
• Coup in the Solomon Islands against Prime Minister Bartholomew Ulufa'alu, led by rebel Malaita Eagle Forces. Ulufa'alua is forced to resign and replaced by Manasseh Sogavare.

2002

• Coup attempt in Côte d'Ivoire on September 19, 2002
• Venezuelan coup attempt of 2002 was a failed coup d'état that lasted 47 hours. President Hugo Chávez was detained, the National Assembly and the Supreme Court dissolved, and the country's Constitution declared void. Pedro Carmona was installed as interim president.

2003

• Military coup in Central African Republic against Ange-Félix Patassé.
• Attempted coup in Mauritania.
• Military coup in São Tomé and Príncipe against Fradique de Menezes.
• Military coup in Guinea-Bissau against Kumba Ialá.
• Failed mutiny and coup attempt in the Philippines led by right-wing junior officers known as the Magdalo (mutineers).

2004

• Attempted coup in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
• The 2004 Haitian coup d'état ousted president Jean-Bertrand Aristide during his second term, in which he left Haiti on a American plane accompanied by U.S. military/security personnel. Controversy remains regarding the involvement of the U.S. in his departure and whether or not the departure was voluntary. Aristide described his departure as a kidnapping. An interim government led by Prime Minister Gérard Latortue and President Boniface Alexandre was installed.
• Failed coup d'état in Chad against President Idriss Déby.
• Second attempted coup in the Democratic Republic of Congo (June).
• Attempted coup in Equatorial Guinea.

2005

• Ecuadorian coup of 2005. It resulted in the premature end of President Lucio Edwin Gutiérrez Borbúa
• Coup in Togo legalized by parliamentary vote but unrecognized by international community.
• King Gyanendra of Nepal overthrows the government in a self-coup, making him the head of government. The government is reestablished April 24, 2006 after a massive democracy movement.
• A military coup in Mauritania overthrows President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya. A new government is set up by a group of military officers headed by Ely Ould Mohamed Vall. The group formed the Military Council for Justice and Democracy to act as the governing council of the country.

2006

• The Armed Forces of the Philippines allegedly attempted a military coup in the Philippines targeting President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, which led to a state of emergency in the country.
• The United Front for Democratic Change allegedly attempts to instigate a military coup in Chad to overthrow President Idriss Déby.
• The Royal Thai Army orchestrates a coup in Thailand that overthrows Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra while he is out of the country.
• The Malagasy Popular Armed Forces allegedly attempt a military coup in Madagascar against President Marc Ravalomanana.
• The military of Fiji overthrows President Josefa Iloilo and Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase in a bloodless coup.
• The military of Côte d'Ivoire claims to foil a coup attempt targeting President Laurent Gbagbo.

2007

• An alleged coup attempt by General Vang Pao and others in the United States to overthrow the Laotian government is foiled.
• Philippines rebel forces led by opposition politician Sen. Antonio Trillanes, storm the Peninsula hotel in an attempted coup.
• Attempted military coup in Turkey, called an "e-coup" (April 27), reminiscent of the "postmodern coup" of 1997. The office of the Chief of General Staff posts an ultimatum to the AKP government on its website to block the election of Abdullah Gül as President. Gül is elected anyway, and the threats do not materialize.

2008

• East Timorese president José Ramos-Horta is shot and injured in what prime minister Xanana Gusmão describes as an attempted coup.
• A military coup in Mauritania involving the seizure of the President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, Prime Minister Yahya Ould Ahmed El Waghef, and Interior Minister after the sacking of several military officials and a political crisis in which 48 MPs walked off the job and a vote of no confidence in cabinet.
• A military coup occurs in Guinea after the death of President Lansana Conté.

2009

• In an attempted coup in Madagascar the army seized one of the presidential palaces on March 16, 2009, at which president Marc Ravalomanana was not present. The proposal offered by the president for a referendum to solve the crisis was rejected. On March 17, 2009, Marc Ravalomanana resigned under pressure from the military.
• In Honduras, the army seized one of the presidential palaces on June 28, 2009, and kidnapped president Manuel Zelaya Rosales. The 23-nation Rio Group & the United Nations General Assembly condemned the "coup d'état".
• On 4 February 2009 Malaysia's Perak State Government of the People's Alliance led by Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin was toppled in a coup d'état organized by the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) which later formed a new State Government of their own. Political unrest continued when armed unites stormed and sealed the state Legislative Assembly building and expelled the Speaker. The Leader of the new State Government established by the coup d'état is Dr. Zambry Abdul Kadir.

2010–present

• List of coups d'état and coup attempts since 2010

See also

• Coup d'état
• List of revolutions and rebellions–Chronological listing
• List of successful coups d'état–Alphabetical listing

References

Szulc, Tad (1965). "Latin America", The New York Times Company, Library of Congress 65-27528