November 1966 Burundian coup d'état

History of Burundi
Urewe civilisation Hutu, Tutsi and Twa origins
Kingdom of Burundi German East Africa 1891–1919 Ruanda-Urundi 1922–1962 Ruzagayura famine 1943–1944
Road to independence Parliamentary elections 1961 Prince Rwagasore assassination 1961 Independence 1962
Burundi 1962–present Army coup attempt 1965 Ndizeye coup Jul 1966 Micombero coup Nov 1966 Genocidal massacre of Hutus 1972 Bagaza coup 1976 Buyoya coup, 1st 1987
Burundian Civil War Genocidal massacre of Tutsis 1993 Buyoya coup, 2nd 1996 Titanic Express massacre 2000 Army coup attempt 2001 Itaba massacre 2002
Current Second Congo War 1998–2003 Burundian unrest 2015–present
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On 26 November 1966, Michel Micombero, Burundi's 26-year-old Prime Minister ousted the 19-year-old Burundian King, Ntare V, in a coup d'état. Ntare was out of the country at the time and the coup leaders quickly succeeded in taking control. Micombero declared an end to the monarchy and the Kingdom of Burundi became a republic with Micombero as its first President.^[1] The coup was the third Burundian coup in 13 months and Micombero, a Tutsi, ruled the country for the next 10 years, including during the genocide in 1972. Micombero was eventually ousted during a bloodless coup in 1976.^[2]

Background

The November coup of 1966 was the last of three coups to take place in Burundi during 1965 and 1966. The previous coups (in November 1965 and July 1966) followed the assassination of the country's Prime Minister, Pierre Ngendandumwe on 15 January 1965, and the country's first parliamentary elections in May 1965. The assassinations, attempted coups, contentious elections and ethnic cleansing campaigns combined to make the period immediately following independence a tumultuous one for Burundian society.

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