This is a list of coups d'état and coup attempts by country, listed in chronological order. A coup is an attempt to illegally overthrow a country's government. Scholars generally consider a coup successful when the usurpers are able to maintain control of the government for at least seven days.[1]
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- Lunar August, 456 AD: Historical texts state that Mayuwa no Ōkimi (ja:眉輪王) assassinated reigning Ōkimi Emperor Ankō (安康天皇) over the alleged killing of his father. According to the Nihon Shoki, the influential Ōomi Katsuragi no Tsubura was also killed by arson, whereas the Kojiki says he killed himself. This potentially could have been a coup attempt because the two most senior statesmen were targeted and eliminated, nevertheless there is no indication that the plotter wanted to assume the throne, instead Emperor Yuryaku ascended three months later.
- 479 AD: An attempt by Prince Hoshikawa to gain the throne failed.
- 498 AD: Ōomi Heguri no Matori takes over Yamato Japan's government in a briefly successful coup upon the death of Emperor Ninken, before being defeated and killed by Otomo no Kanamura, who raised Emperor Buretsu to the throne.
Over a century later, in 632 A.D. the title Ōkimi was posthumously reassigned to the term Tenno. This term is currently equated with Emperor.
- 645 AD: Soga no Iruka was assassinated in a successful coup, with one of the coup plotters becoming the next Emperor (Taika Reform).
- 764 AD: A coup, led by Fujiwara no Nakamaro, to overthrow Retired Empress Kōken and the monk Dōkyō failed.
- 1156: Emperor Go-Shirakawa defeated his rival Jōkō Emperor Sutoku.
- 1160: The Minamoto clan took up arms against the Taira clan. The Taira clan emerged victorious.
- 1184: Amidst the Genpei War, Kiso Yoshinaka ambushed Hōjūjidono, confining Emperor Go-Toba and Cloistered Emperor Go-Shirakawa.
- 1551: Sue Takafusa (later known as Sue Harukata) launched a rebellion against Ōuchi Yoshitaka, hegemon daimyō of western Japan, leading the latter to commit seppuku.
- 1864–65: The Mito Rebellion of Takeda Kōunsai was a rebellion in the Mito Domain in support of the sonnō jōi policy.
- 1866–68: A Samurai uprising led to the overthrow of the Tokugawa Shogunate and the establishment of a "modern" parliamentary, Western-style system under the Meiji era.
- March 1931: An aborted coup by the Sakurakai to overthrow Prime Minister Osachi Hamaguchi and form a new government was led by Army Minister Kazushige Ugaki.
- October 21, 1931: An aborted coup by the Sakurakai.
- May 15, 1932: A failed coup by members of the Imperial Japanese Navy resulted in the assassination of Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi.
- November 1934: A coup by members of the Imperial Japanese Army failed to achieve a Shōwa Restoration.
- February 26, 1936: A failed coup was led by the Imperial Way Faction in the Imperial Japanese Army against Prime Minister Keisuke Okada's government.
- August 14–15, 1945: A coup against the Emperor Hirohito by members of the Japanese War Ministry and the Imperial Guard opposed to surrendering to the Allied Powers at the end of World War II failed after they were unable to convince the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff and the Eastern District Army to join.
- August 24, 1945: A failed coup by dissidents opposed to surrender was led by Isao Okazaki in Matsue.
- December 12, 1961: A coup attempt by retired right wing members of the Imperial Japanese Army was aborted through a police raid.
- November 25, 1970: A coup by author Yukio Mishima, who attempted to convince the Japan Self-Defense Forces to overturn the 1947 Constitution, was aborted.
There are estimated to be over 10 unsuccessful coups during the period of 1919–1940 in Lithuania.
- August to September 1919: A failed attempt by Polish Chief of State Józef Piłsudski to overthrow the existing Lithuanian government of Prime Minister Mykolas Sleževičius, and install a pro-Polish cabinet that would agree to a union with Poland.
- December 17, 1926: President Kazys Grinius was overthrown and Antanas Smetona became the head of state.
- September 9, 1927: An attempt to overthrow the Lithuanian Nationalist Union and to re-establish the previous government failed.
- June 6–7, 1934: A failed coup d'état was led by the fascist Iron Wolf.
- July 31 to September 22, 1993: This was a stand-off that occurred in summer 1993 in Lithuania near Kaunas between a group of about 150 men from the Lithuanian National Defence Volunteer Forces (then known as Savanoriškoji krašto apsaugos tarnyba or SKAT) and the Lithuanian government.
From the 1565 Spanish conquest until 1898, there were more than 20 failed Philippine revolts against Spain, including the Chinese revolts (1603, 1662), Dagohoy rebellion (1744–1825), Silang rebellion (1762–1763), and Pule revolt (1840–1841), all crushed by the Spanish colonial government. Most of these were due to redress personal grievances (land use, unjust taxation, forced labor) and were not aimed to overthrow the government in Manila. The following list includes plots that did aim to overthrow the national government.
- 1942–1954: The failed Hukbalahap Rebellion against Japan and, later, the government of the Philippines, ended with the surrender of the Huks.
- July 6–8, 1986: A failed coup attempt, by former senator and vice presidential candidate Arturo Tolentino together with 490 armed soldiers and 15,000 civilians loyal to former president Ferdinand Marcos, was crushed by the Philippine government.
- November 11, 1986: A failed coup attempt, led by Juan Ponce Enrile, ended with the removal of Enrile and re-organization of her cabinet.
- January 27–29, 1987: A failed coup attempt, led by Colonel Oscar Canlas, ended with one rebel soldier killed, and 35 others injured.
- April 18, 1987: A failed coup attempt ended with one rebel soldier killed.
- July 13, 1987: An alleged coup attempt ended with four officers being sued in military court.
- August 28–29, 1987: A failed coup attempt, led by Colonel Gregorio Honasan, was crushed by the Philippine government.
- December 1–9, 1989: A failed coup attempt, led by Colonel Gregorio Honasan together with soldiers loyal to former president Marcos, was crushed by the Philippine government.
- March 4, 1990: Government troops under Brigadier General Oscar Florendo fought against rebel forces led by suspended Cagayan Governor Rodolfo "Agi" Aguinaldo and were crushed by the Philippine government.
- October 4–6, 1990: Mutinying soldiers staged a dawn raid on an army base in Mindanao, and were defeated by the government.
- January 17–20, 2001: A four-day political protest, held in EDSA, peacefully overthrew the government of President Joseph Estrada[134]
- April 25 to May 1, 2001: A seven-day political protest was held. also in EDSA, in a failed attempt to bring Joseph Estrada back to power.
- July 27, 2003: A failed coup attempt saw the surrender of mutinous soldiers after taking over the Oakwood condominiums in the Makati Central Business District.
- February 24, 2006: A state of emergency was declared to forestall alleged coup against the government
- November 29, 2007: Mutinous soldiers occupied the Peninsula Manila Hotel, but later surrendered to the government.
Alleged plots that have not been attempted yet:
- 2018–2021: Allegations of ouster plot against President Rodrigo Duterte were first publicized by the military. The allegations mainly implicated the opposition figures and the critics of the Duterte administration of involvement in the plot.
Rebellions that have not yet led to the point where the rebels had a chance of overthrowing the government:
- 1565–1898: Spain failed to subjugate the Moros until the cession of the Spanish East Indies to the United States.
- 1899–1913: The United States defeated the Moros and annexed their territories to the Philippine Islands.
- 1969–2019: The Tripoli Agreement with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in 1976, Final Peace Agreement with the MNLF in 1996, peace deal with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in 2014, and established the Bangsamoro in 2019.
- 1969–present: The ongoing communist rebellion in the Philippines is primarily led by the New People's Army (NPA). NPA breakaway groups have had peace deals with the Philippine government: with the Cordillera People's Liberation Army in 1986, and with the Revolutionary Proletarian Army in 2000.
Attempts to wrest control of a chamber of Congress are plots, not coups, because the do not the definition of "removal of an existing government from power" because the head of state and government are not at stake (The Philippines uses the presidential system of government with separation of powers). There had been several instances of this, the latest of which were in 2020 in the House of Representatives and in 2018 in the Senate. One example was in March to April 1952 when the Senate presidency changed three times.
The number of coups in Thailand—whether successful or unsuccessful— is uncertain, leading one academic to call for a concerted effort to make a definitive list.[155]
According to Paul Chambers, a professor at Chiang Mai University's Institute for South-East Asian Affairs, there have been almost 30 coup attempts in Thailand (whether successful or unsuccessful) since 1912. Some count 11 coups since 1932.[156] Others claim there were 13 since 1932.[157]
- 1912: Coup planned by military officers was discovered and thwarted.
- June 24, 1932: The Khana Ratsadon party overthrew the absolute monarchy of King Prajadhipok.[158]
- April 1, 1933: Phraya Manopakorn Nitithada dissolved a government of the People's Party and ousted Pridi Banomyong, the leader of the party, from the country.
- June 20, 1933: Phraya Phahon Phonphayuhasena overthrew Phraya Manopakorn Nititada.[158]
- October 11–23, 1933: A royalist rebellion overturned the results of the June 1933 coup d'état.
- August 3, 1935: The Nai Sip rebellion took place.[159]
- January 29, 1939: More a purge or internal coup, this was the work of Prime Minister Phibul to remove political enemies and rivals.[159]
- November 7, 1947: Phin Choonhavan overthrew Thawal Thamrong Navaswadhi.[158]
- February 26–27, 1949: An attempted coup by Pridi Banomyong, who saw the Grand Palace occupied by his supporters, failed.[159]
- June 29, 1951: Pridi supporters in the navy attempted a coup when they tried to seize Phibun.[159]
- November 29, 1951: The military overthrew the 1949 constitution and reverted to the 1932 constitution.[158]
- September 21, 1957: Sarit Thanarat overthrew Plaek Pibulsongkram.[158]
- October 20, 1958: Sarit Thanarat led a self-coup.[158]
- November 18, 1971: Thanom Kittikachorn led a self-coup.[158]
- February 1976: An attempted military coup was defeated in February.[159]
- October 6, 1976: Sangad Chaloryu overthrew Seni Pramoj.[158]
- 26 March 1977: attempt by members of the 9th Infantry Division to remove Thanin Kraivichien.
- October 20, 1977: Kriangsak Chamanan overthrew Thanin Kraivichien.[158]
- April 1, 1981: A coup led by the army's deputy commander-in-chief failed when forces loyal to the government suppressed the revolt. The "Young Turk" group of officers who staged the coup were dismissed from the army.[159]
- September 9, 1985: A coup attempt by Colonel Manoonkrit Roopkachorn, a member of the Young Turks, failed and a number of senior officers were later arrested.[159]
- February 23. 1991: Sunthorn Kongsompong overthrew Chatichai Choonhavan.[158]
- September 19. 2006: Sonthi Boonyaratglin overthrew Thaksin Shinawatra.[158]
- May 22, 2014: Prayut Chan-o-cha overthrew Niwatthamrong Boonsongpaisan.[158]