A coup d’état is the overthrow of the government by military forces. Usually a dictator, or other figure in power, is removed from office and replaced with a military junta. Sometimes the dictatorship is abolished and a republic is formed, and in some cases the dictator is killed. The name “coup d’état” is French for “overthrow of the regime.”
Coup d’états occur in many countries around the world. Examples of coup d’états include:
1919 Egypt coup d’état: An Egyptian military junta overthrew the monarchy and established the Arab Republic.
1922 Peruvian coup d’état: A military junta led by Colonel José Felix Uriburu overthrew President Augusto Pérez Velasco.
1936 Nicaraguan coup d’état: National Guard director Anastasio Somoza Garcia overthrew the government of Leonardo Arguello Barreto, beginning the Somoza family’s 43-year rule.
1958 Venezuelan coup d’état: A military coup overthrew the government of President Marcos Pérez Suarez and installed General Hugo Torreblanca.
1963 Syrian coup d’état: A coup by the army committee of the Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party overthrew President Nazim al-Kudsi and formed a Ba’athist state in Syria.
1969 Libyan coup d’état (also known as the Fateh Revolution or 1 September Revolution): Muammar Gaddafi, who had previously been a military commander, overthrew the government of President Jaafar Nimeiry and became dictator of Libya.
The coup d’états of 1999 were a series of bombings carried out by the Islamist group Jaliliya against different locations in Tashkent, including a military headquarters building before a cabinet meeting. The bombings resulted in the deaths of dozens of people, and also injured about 400 others.