Aself-coup, also called an autocoup (from Spanish autogolpe) or coup from the top, is a form of coup d'état in which a nation's head, having come to power through legal means, tries to stay in power through illegal means. The leader may dissolve or render powerless the national legislature and unlawfully assume extraordinary powers not granted under normal circumstances. Other measures may include annulling the nation's constitution, suspending civil courts, and having the head of government assume dictatorial powers.[1][2]
Between 1946 and 2022, an estimated 148 self-coup attempts took place, 110 in autocracies and 38 in democracies.[3]
Roman Republic: Julius Caesar (February 44 BC; when declared Dictator perpetuo)[citation needed]
Sweden: King Gustavus III (August 19, 1772)[citation needed]
France: President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte (December 2, 1851)[4]
Bulgaria: Prince Alexander of Battenberg (April 27, 1881)[citation needed]
Uruguay: President Juan Lindolfo Cuestas (February 10, 1898)[5]
Austria: Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss (March 15, 1933)[6]
Germany: Chancellor Adolf Hitler (March 23, 1933 / August 2, 1934)[4][7] Uruguay: President Gabriel Terra (March 31, 1933)[8]
Estonia: Prime Minister in duties of the State Elder Konstantin Päts (March 12, 1934)[9]
Latvia: Prime Minister Karlis Ulmanis (May 15–16, 1934)[citation needed]
Greece: Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas (August 4, 1936)[citation needed]
Brazil: President Getúlio Vargas (November 10, 1937)[citation needed]
Paraguay: President Higinio Morínigo (November 30, 1940)[citation needed]
Romania: King Michael I of Romania (August 23, 1944)[10]
Bolivia: President Mamerto Urriolagoitía (May 16, 1951)[11]
Indonesia: President Sukarno (July 5, 1959)[12]
Thailand: Prime Minister Thanom Kittikachorn (November 17, 1971)[citation needed]
Philippines: President Ferdinand Marcos (September 23, 1972)[4][13]
South Korea: President Park Chung Hee (October 17, 1972)[14] Uruguay: President Juan María Bordaberry (June 27, 1973)[1]
China: Premier Hua Guofeng (October 6, 1976)[citation needed] Thailand: Prime Minister Kriangsak Chamanan (November 10, 1977)[citation needed]
Peru: President Alberto Fujimori (April 5, 1992)[15]
Russia: President Boris Yeltsin (September 21, 1993)[16][17][18][19]
Cambodia: Prime Minister Hun Sen (July, 1997)[20][21]
Venezuela: President Nicolás Maduro (March 29, 2017)[22] Peru: President Martín Vizcarra (30 September 2019)[23][24][25]
Malaysia: Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin (29 February 2020)[26]
Russia: President Vladimir Putin (July 4, 2020 / December 31, 1999)[27][28][29]
El Salvador: President Nayib Bukele (May 1, 2021)[30]
Tunisia: President Kais Saied (July 25, 2021)[31][32][33]
Sudan: Chairman of the Sovereignty Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (October 25, 2021)[34]
Guatemala: President Jorge Serrano Elías (May 25–June 5, 1993)[35] Indonesia: President Abdurrahman Wahid (July 1–25, 2001)[36] Malaysia: Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad (February 23–March 1, 2020)[37]
United States: President Donald Trump (January 6, 2021); after election loss[38] Peru: President Pedro Castillo (December 7, 2022)[39]
Brazil: President Jair Bolsonaro (October 30, 2022 – December 31, 2022; January 8, 2023); after election loss[40][41]
Israel: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Ongoing events, since he assumed office on December 29, 2022)[42][43][44][45][46][47][48]
In political science, the term coup refers to the illegitimate overthrow of a sitting government—usually through violence or the threat of violence. The technical term for attempting to stay in power illegitimately—such as after losing an election—is self-couporautocoup, sometimes autogolpe
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