Much of modern history has seen the coup d'état play an important role. Many nation-states have seen coups or attempted coups which has shaped the way they function. The recent coup in Zimbabwe is just another in a long list of militaristic and civilian takeovers of governments — England has seen attempts such as those by Mary, Queen of Scots and the Gunpowder Plot by Guy Fawkes.
Here is a look at the coups that have changed history.
1900s - ‘50s
Country: Italy
Year: 1922
Incumbent: King Victor Emmanuel III
Who took over: Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
An organised mass demonstration called the March on Rome brought the fascists headed by Mussolini to power. He went on to establish a dictatorship, founded fascism, and was the youngest Prime Minister in Italian history until 2014. He was captured by Italian communists in 1945, while trying to flee to Switzerland and summarily executed by a firing squad.
Country: Cuba
Years: 1933 and 1952
Incumbent: Gerardo Machado
Who took over: Fulgencio Batista
Batista first rose to power in 1933, in an incident termed the Revolt of the Sergeants. He held on to power until 1944, after which he moved to Florida. He then came back to Cuba in 1952 to participate in elections, but organised a military coup three months before polling when he faced certain defeat. He was ousted in 1959 in the Cuban Revolution led by Fidel Castro.
1950s - ‘70s
Country: France
Year: 1958
Incumbent: Rene Coty
Who took over: Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
During the Algerian War of Independence, an event known as the Algerian putsch occurred, which led to de Gaulle’s re-entry into politics after 12 years. The French military in Algeria was upset about how little governmental support they were given. De Gaulle commissioned the new constitution of France and was elected the President of the French Republic, a position he held until 1969.
Country: Myanmar (then Burma)
Year: 1962
Incumbent: U Nu
Who took over: Gen. Ne Win
It was an almost bloodless coup that led to the military takeover of Myanmar. Ne Win had led a caretaker government and then handed over power to U Nu. Less than two years after this, Ne seized power and became both the head of state and the Prime Minister. The military junta was in power until 2011.
Country: Indonesia
Year: 1967
Incumbent: Sukarno
Who took over: Suharto
Sukarno.
Sukarno’s last years as President were plagued by growing tensions between the military and the PKI, the Indonesian Communist Party. The army shot and killed seven officers in power, and Ministers. Suharto, a commander in the Army’s strategic reserve, took charge. He immediately blamed the coup on the PKI and several communists were killed in a mass action. Suharto resigned in 1998.
1970s - ‘90s
Country: Syria
Year: 1970
Incumbent: Salah Jadid
Who took over: Hafez al-Assad
Hafez al-Assad
The Corrective Movement in Syria aided al-Assad’s rise to power. Jadid spent the rest of his life in Syrian prison. Assad’s son Bashar al-Assad took over power following his father’s death in 2000.
Country: Philippines
Year: 1972
Incumbent: Diosdado Macapagal
Who took over: Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Marcos
In September 1972, Marcos imposed martial law in the Philippines. Incidentally, while the proclamation was signed on September 17, 1972, Marcos postdated it to September 21 for superstitious reasons. The law and his regime were both lifted in 1981.
Country: Chile
Year: 1973
Incumbent: Salvador Allende
Who took over: Augusto Pinochet
With a little help from their friends in the U.S., Pinochet, the Chilean army chief overthrew Allende, the democratically-elected President. The U.S. immediately recognised the junta set up by Pinochet and supported it. Allende killed himself. Torture and detention centres were set up, and a large number of real and suspected leftists were killed. An internationally supported plebiscite in 1988 led to Pinochet stepping down.
Country: Argentina
Year: 1976
Incumbent: Isabel Peron
Who took over: Junta
A right-wing coup overthrew Peron as President of Argentina and was replaced by a military junta . In this coup too, the U.S. had a hand, with former American Secretary of State Henry Kissinger meeting several times with Argentine military leaders.
Country: Pakistan
Year: 1977, 1999
Incumbent: Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Nawaz Sharif
Who took over: Zia-ul-Haq, Pervez Musharraf
Zia-ul-Haq
Both times in Pakistan, the military took over from a democratically elected government. The 1977 coup was code named Operation Fair Play, and martial law was imposed until Zia’s death in 1988. Bhutto was executed by Zia’s government. Pervez Musharraf took over Sharif’s government overnight. But, Sharif and his family were pardoned by Musharraf, and they lived in exile until recently.
Country: Iran
Year: 1979
Incumbent: Reza Shah Pahlavi
Who took over: Ayatollah Khomeini
Ayatollah Khomeini
This revolution saw the overthrowing of the Pahlavi dynasty, an end to 2,500 years of Persian monarchy and the establishment of an Islamic Republic. Khomeini died in 1989 and was succeeded by Ali Khamenei who is now the Supreme Leader of Iran.
Country: Bangladesh
Year: 1982
Incumbent: Abdus Sattar
Who took over: Lt. Gen. Hussain Muhammad Ershad
After gaining independence from Pakistan in 1971, Bangladesh has seen a series of coups, and the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The army installed Khondaker Mostaq Ahmed as President, who was then overthrown by Maj. Gen. Ziaur Rahman. Sattar was Ziaur Rahman’s successor, who had to give his seat to Ershad, who then imposed martial law. Ershad’s political party, the Jatiyo party won elections in 1986 with all opposition parties boycotting the polls. He remained in power until 1990.
Country: Tunisia
Year: 1987
Incumbent: Habib Bourguiba
Who took over: Zine el Abidine Ben Ali
In 1987, there was a bloodless coup that involved the ousting of Bourguiba. This was originally called the Jasmine Revolution, until the 2011 protests against Ben Ali took on the same name. Ben Ali and his family are now living in exile in Jeddah.
1990s - till date
Country: Venezuela
Year: 1992
Incumbent: Carlos Andres Perez
Who took over: Failed attempt
1992 saw Venezuela overcoming two coup attempts by Hugo Chavez. The second attempt was when Chavez was in prison. Chavez eventually became the President of Venezuela and served in that position until his death in 2013.
Country: Russia
Year: 1993
Incumbent: Boris Yeltsin
Who took over: Self-coup
A political stand-off between Russian President Boris Yeltsin and the Russian Parliament was resolved using military force. A ten-day conflict led to street fighting in Moscow, the deadliest event since the Russian Revolution. In 1991, a coup attempt was made on the government of Mikhail Gorbachev, an event that destabilised the Soviet Union and led to the breakup of the country.
Country: Fiji
Year: 2000 and 2006
Incumbent: Mahendra Chaudhry, Laisenia Qarase
Who took over: Frank Bainimarama
Fiji’s conflict stems from religious differences between ethnic Fijians and Indian Fijians. Qarase was stopped when trying to enter the Government House. Bainimarama was appointed Prime Minister and is still in power.
Country: Maldives
Year: 2011
Incumbent: Mohammed Nasheed
Who took over: Waheed Manik
Nasheed is credited with bringing democracy to the Maldives, but was ousted in an overnight overthrow. The coup-implanted government used force to subdue counter-protests. Nasheed claimed a coup but it hasn’t been internationally recognised as one yet.
Country: Egypt
Year: 2013
Incumbent: Mohammed Morsy
Who took over: Abdel Fattah el-Sisi
The Egyptian army chief Gen el-Sisi removed Morsy from power. Morsy himself had come to power after his predecessor Hosni Mubarak was forced to resign from his position. Pro-Morsy supporters and those who were a part of the Muslim Brotherhood were killed. el-Sisi remains in power.
Country: Thailand
Year: 2014
Incumbent: Niwatthamrong Boonsongpaisan
Who took over: Prayut Chan-o-cha
Prayut launched a coup, the country’s 12th coup since 1932, overthrew the caretaker government of Thailand and imposed martial law. The military also established a junta and former Thai king Bhumibol Adulyadej formally appointed Prayut to run the country.
Country: Yemen
Year: 2014
Incumbent: Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi
Who took over: Houthi rebels
Houthi insurgents stormed the Yemeni capital Sana’a and forced Hadi to resign. This led to a Saudi Arabia-led military intervention in the country which included airstrikes and naval blockades. A government still hasn’t been formed in Yemen.
Country: Turkey
Year: 2016
Incumbent: Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Who took over: Failed attempt
Over 300 people were killed, and many government buildings were bombed in a coup attempt that shook up Turkey in 2016. A faction of the Turkish military was believed to be behind the coup, but they failed to do so as state forces proved more powerful.
