The 1991 Lesotho coup d'état was a

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distin ...

coup that took place in

Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked as an enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the highest mountains in Southern Africa. It has an area of over and has a populatio ...

on 30 April 1991, led by Colonel

Elias Phisoana Ramaema Major-General Elias Phisoana Ramaema (10 November 1933 – 11 December 2015) was Chairman of the Military Council and Council of Ministers of Lesotho ( Head of government) from 2 May 1991 to 2 April 1993. Born at Mapoteng Mapoteng is a community ...

. It led to the resignation of Prime Minister General

Justin Lekhanya General Justin Metsing Lekhanya (7 April 1938 – 20 January 2021) was the Minister of Defence and Chairman of the Military Council of Lesotho from 24 January 1986 to 2 May 1991. Background Born in Thaba-Tseka in 1938, Lekhanya completed his pri ...

, who held the office since the 1986 coup d'état. Colonel Ramaena besieged the government and forced Prime Minister Lekhanya to resign. During Ramaena's two years in power, a new

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princip ...

restoring the powers of the

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. ...

was adopted. Multi-party general election was held on 27 March 1993, with the assistance of the

Secretariat Secretariat may refer to: * Secretariat (administrative office) * Secretariat (horse) Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred racehorse who is the ninth winner of the Ameri ...

of the

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the ...

, at the request of the government. Finally, the exiled King

Moshoeshoe II Moshoeshoe II (2 May 1938 – 15 January 1996), previously known as Constantine Bereng Seeiso, was the Paramount Chief of Basutoland, succeeding paramount chief Seeiso from 1960 until the country gained full independence from Britain in 1966. ...

, who was dethroned by General Lekhanya in 1990, was restored to the throne on 25 January 1995.

References

Military coups in Lesotho 1991 in Lesotho Conflicts in 1991 1990s coups d'état and coup attempts April 1991 events in Africa {{Lesotho-stub