A coup d'état, known more simply as a coup, is the seizure and removal of a government and its powers. It comes from the French phrase meaning a "stroke of state" or "blow of state". These transfers of power are illegal and, often violent. The transfer of power is typically given to a political faction, rebel group, the military, or a dictator. We know many of these dictators well: Adolf Hitler, Muammar Gaddafi, Francisco Franco, Idi Amin. In recent times, there have been military coups in Pakistan and Niger. Here's a look at some history-changing military coups and the men who led them.
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#famousmilitarycoups
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#pakistan
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00:00 A coup d'etat, known more simply as a coup, is the seizure and removal of a government
00:16 and its powers.
00:18 It comes from the French phrase meaning a stroke of state or blow of state.
00:23 These transfer of power are illegal and often violent.
00:26 The transfer of power is typically given to a political faction, rebel group, the military
00:31 or a dictator.
00:33 We know many of these dictators, well, Adolf Hitler, Muammar Gaddafi, Francisco Franco,
00:39 Idi Amin and many more.
00:41 In recent times, there have been military coups in Pakistan and Niger.
00:45 Here's a look at some history-changing military coups and the men who led them.
00:50 Napoleon Bonaparte In October of 1799, when Napoleon Bonaparte
00:55 returned from an Egyptian military campaign, he began scheming to overthrow the five-member
01:00 directory that ruled France.
01:03 With the support of several high-level coup conspirators, Napoleon arranged for a special
01:07 legislative session outside Paris on November 10.
01:11 He tried to cajole the legislature into putting him in charge.
01:14 The lower house instead bombarded him with abuse, chanting "Down with the dictator!"
01:20 He was chased out of his chamber, but he managed to convince a small, hand-picked group of
01:25 legislators to abolish the directory and appoint him to a consulate.
01:29 Quickly becoming the first consul, Napoleon completed his consolidation of power.
01:35 In 1804, he crowned himself the emperor.
01:38 Francisco Franco When a leftist coalition won the Spanish elections
01:42 in February of 1936, General Francisco Franco was packed off to a remote post in the Canary
01:48 Islands.
01:50 But on July 18, Franco broadcast a manifesto imploring the military to overthrow the democratically
01:56 elected government.
01:57 As army garrisons all across Spain responded to his call, he secretly flew from the Canary
02:03 Islands to Spanish-controlled Morocco.
02:05 There, he took charge of the battle-hardened troops already stationed there.
02:10 The coup attempt was only partially successful, leaving Franco's rebels in control of just
02:15 one-third of the country.
02:17 But this started a bloody civil war that lasted three years.
02:21 In the end, Franco emerged victorious.
02:24 With the support of fascists, monarchists, the landed gentry and the Catholic Church,
02:28 he ruled as dictator of Spain until his death in 1975.
02:33 Muammar al-Qaddafi Born in a tent to illiterate Bedouin parents,
02:37 Muammar al-Qaddafi grew up hating the Libyan monarchy and its Western supporters.
02:42 When he turned 27, the junior army officer decided to seize power himself on September
02:47 1, 1969.
02:48 King Idris was out of the country at a health resort at the time.
02:53 Driving military vehicles into the cities of Tripoli and Benghazi, he and about 70 co-conspirators
03:00 surrounded the royal palace and other government buildings.
03:03 They cut communications and arrested top officials.
03:06 Within two hours, the more-or-less bloodless coup ended.
03:09 In a radio address, Qaddafi informed his countrymen that the corrupt and reactionary regime had
03:14 been toppled.
03:17 Ruthlessly stifling dissent and constantly clashing with the United States, Qaddafi went
03:21 on to rule Libya for 42.
03:23 He was finally killed during the 2011 Arab Spring uprising.
03:28 Edi Amin From humble beginnings, Edi Amin rose through
03:32 military ranks to become Uganda's top general.
03:35 Though originally a close ally of President Milton Obot, the two men eventually began
03:39 to distrust each other.
03:41 On January 25, 1971, while Obot was away, Amin moved troops into Kampala, the capital.
03:48 Firing automatic weapons and mortars, Amin's men quickly took possession of the airport
03:53 and other strategic sites.
03:55 After that, they announced their successful coup over the radio.
03:58 Despite a promise to restore democracy, the self-proclaimed "last king of Scotland" went
04:03 on to rule Uganda as a dictator.
04:06 He killed some 300,000 political opponents over the course of his eight-year reign.
04:11 He was finally deposed by Ugandan exiles and Tanzanian soldiers and lived out the rest
04:15 of his life in Saudi Arabia, never facing charges.
04:19 Pakistan of 1999 The 1999 military takeover in Pakistan was
04:24 a bloodless coup initiated by the military staff under the leadership of General Pervez
04:28 Musharraf.
04:29 The instigators seized control of the civilian government of the publicly elected Prime
04:33 Minister Nawaz Sharif on 12 October 1999.
04:37 Two days later, General Musharraf, acting as the country's chief executive, issued a
04:42 controversial provisional order that suspended the constitution of Pakistan.
04:47 Martial law was declared due to the breakdown of civil-military relations.
04:50 Within hours, army commanders took control of all key government institutions throughout
04:54 the country.
04:55 They placed Sharif and his administration, which included his brother, under house arrest.
05:01 Military police took control of the state broadcaster, radio and the entire communications
05:05 infrastructure.
05:06 They announced that Sharif had been dismissed.
05:08 The Supreme Court of Pakistan, led by Chief Justice Irshad Hassan Khan, validated the
05:12 martial law under a doctrine of necessity.
05:15 Sharif was tried by the Judge Advocate General Court and convicted of endangering the lives
05:20 of all passengers aboard the aircraft carrying Musharraf.
05:23 On 10 December 2000, Musharraf unexpectedly issued a pardon to Nawaz Sharif to be flown
05:28 to Saudi Arabia.
05:29 In 2016, Musharraf confessed in an interview that he pardoned Sharif from life imprisonment
05:34 on the request of King Abdullah.
05:37 In 2001, Musharraf issued the executive decree and eventually forced President Rafiq Tarar
05:42 to resign.
05:44 Musharraf finally became President of Pakistan.
05:46 In 2002, the general elections restored democracy when the Musharraf-backed PMLQ formed a minority
05:52 government.
05:53 But protests against Musharraf grew until he resigned in an attempt to avoid impeachment
05:58 in the parliament.
05:59 Nijair, in 2023
06:02 In July 2023, members of Nijair's presidential guard detained President Mohammed Bazoum inside
06:08 his palace.
06:09 They appeared on national television and announced that they were seizing power to end the deteriorating
06:14 security situation and bad governance.
06:16 Days later, the junta declared the head of the presidential guard, Abdul Rahman Etiani,
06:21 the new head of state.
06:23 The situation has raised concerns about the security of a region where Nijair has been
06:28 a key ally of Western powers fighting al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.
06:32 The main West African bloc, IKOWAS, has been trying to negotiate with the coup leaders
06:37 but so far with no success.
06:39 [MUSIC PLAYING]
06:43 (upbeat music)