The Supreme Military Council ( es, Consejo Militar Supremo, CMS) — initially called the Military Revolutionary Council ( es, Consejo Militar Revolucionario, CMR) — was the ruling

military junta A military junta () is a government led by a committee of military leaders. The term ''junta'' means "meeting" or "committee" and originated in the national and local junta organized by the Spanish resistance to Napoleon's invasion of Spain in ...

and the ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

'' government of

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea ( es, Guinea Ecuatorial; french: Guinée équatoriale; pt, Guiné Equatorial), officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea ( es, link=no, República de Guinea Ecuatorial, french: link=no, République de Guinée équatoria ...

between the 1979 coup d'état and the 1982 constitutional referendum.

History

The coup

On 3 August 1979, President

Francisco Macías Nguema Francisco Macías Nguema ( Africanised to Masie Nguema Biyogo Ñegue Ndong; 1 January 1924 – 29 September 1979), often mononymously referred to as Macías, was an Equatoguinean politician who served as the first President of Equatorial Guinea f ...

was overthrown in 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 distinct ...

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

led by a group of officers who attended the

General Military Academy The General Military Academy (in Spanish: Academia General Militar) is a higher training center of the Spanish Army, responsible for the initial training for officers of the Arms and Corps of the Army, and for the officers of the Civil Guard. I ...

Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...

, among them Eulogio Oyó Riqueza, Vice President Bonifacio Nguema Esono Nchama, fallen from grace and the main responsible for the establishment of

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

n influence in Equatorial Guinea, Navy Lieutenant and commander of the National Navy

Florencio Mayé Elá Florencio Mayé Elá Mangue (born 1944) is an Equatorial Guinean military leader, politician, and diplomat. Biography In the 1960s, Mayé had military training at the General Military Academy in Zaragoza, Spain, along with Teodoro Obiang, Eul ...

, Army Captain Salvador Elá Nseng, Popular Militia Lieutenant Braulio Nsue Ona, Lieutenant Felix Mba Ondo Nchama, military chief of

Río Muni Río Muni (called ''Mbini'' in Fang) is the Continental Region (called ''Región Continental'' in Spanish) of Equatorial Guinea, and comprises the mainland geographical region, covering . The name is derived from the Muni River, along which ...

fallen into disgrace, governor of Banco Popular de Equatorial Guinea Damián Ondo Maye Avang, all of them led by nephew of Macías, Lieutenant General

Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo (; born 5 June 1942) is an Equatoguinean politician and former military officer who has served as the second president of Equatorial Guinea since August 1979. He is the longest-serving president of any country eve ...

, who had been

warden A warden is a custodian, defender, or guardian. Warden is often used in the sense of a watchman or guardian, as in a prison warden. It can also refer to a chief or head official, as in the Warden of the Mint. ''Warden'' is etymologically identic ...

of the

Black Beach Black Beach ( es, Playa Negra), located on the island of Bioko, in the capital city of Malabo in Equatorial Guinea, is one of Africa's most notorious prisons. History The prison was built in the 1940s during the time of the Spanish colonial r ...

prison on the island of

Bioko Bioko (; historically Fernando Po; bvb, Ëtulá Ëria) is an island off the west coast of Africa and the northernmost part of Equatorial Guinea. Its population was 335,048 at the 2015 census and it covers an area of . The island is located of ...

. Prior to the coup, Obiang had become Secretary General of the Ministry of Popular Armed Forces in 1976 and Deputy Minister of the Armed Forces in 1979.

Development

Overthrowing Macías, this group was constituted as the Revolutionary Military Council, chaired by Obiang himself. The other members of the council were Florencio Mayé Elá as First Vice President and Commissioner of the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

, and Salvador Elá Nseng as Second Vice President, among others. The islands of the country (collectively part of the Insular Region) were renamed as

(formerly known as Macías Nguema Biyogo) and

Annobón Annobón ( es, Provincia de Annobón; pt, Ano-Bom), and formerly as ''Anno Bom'' and ''Annabona'', is a province (smallest province in both area and population) of Equatorial Guinea consisting of the island of Annobón, formerly also Pigalu a ...

(formerly known as Pagalú). The new regime found that the coffers of the state were empty and the population was barely a third of what was at the time of independence of the country in 1968, due to repression and exile. On 23 August, the first ministerial cabinet of the council was constituted, composed of eleven members: President Obiang, Florencio Mayé Elá as First Vice President of the Government in charge of Foreign Affairs, Salvador Elá Nseng as Second Vice President in charge of Finances and Commerce, Félix Mbá Nchama (Interior), Pablo Qbama Eyang (Sanitation), Policarpo Monduy Mbá (Justice), Pedro Nsué Qbama (Industry and Mines), Paulino Obiang Enama (Agriculture, Livestock and Forestry), Tarsicio Mané Abeso (Culture and Public Works), Pedro Edú (Transport and Urbanism) and Melchor Ndong (Labor). The ministers were titled as "Military Commissioners". On 25 August, the

United National Workers' Party The United National Workers' Party ( es, Partido Único Nacional de los Trabajadores, lit=Sole National Workers' Party, PUNT) was a political party in Equatorial Guinea. It was the only political party in the country from 1970 to 1979, during ...

(PUNT), the only political party in the country during Macías's presidency, was banned and the Revolutionary Military Council was renamed the Supreme Military Council. In September, before the trial against the former President Macías, a conspiracy was discovered to rescue him from prison, and a contingent of between 90 and 110 security experts from

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

arrived at

Malabo Malabo ( , ; formerly Santa Isabel) is the capital of Equatorial Guinea and the province of Bioko Norte. It is located on the north coast of the island of Bioko, ( bvb, Etulá, and as ''Fernando Pó'' by the Europeans). In 2018, the city had a p ...

, after the visit to

Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ar, الرِّبَاط, er-Ribât; ber, ⵕⵕⴱⴰⵟ, ṛṛbaṭ) is the capital city of Morocco and the country's seventh largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan populati ...

of Feliciano Mba, General Director of Security during the Macías regime. Macías was tried, sentenced to death and

executed by firing squad Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French ''fusil'', rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are us ...

on 29 September 1979. On 12 October, Obiang proclaimed himself President of the country. On 31 October, for the first time since 1971, a cooperation agreement and a protocol of action was signed between Spain and Equatorial Guinea, followed on 5 December by a financial cooperation agreement, and two protocols. In February 1980, Salvador Ela Nseng was dismissed as Second Vice President of the council and replaced by Eulogio Oyó. On 23 October 1980, Spain and Equatorial Guinea signed the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between Spain and Equatorial Guinea of 1980.

Dissolution

In August 1982, a new Constitution was passed in a referendum, replacing the council with a formally civilian government and the

Chamber of People's Representatives The Chamber of Deputies ( es, Cámara de los Diputados; french: Chambre des députés; pt, Câmara dos Deputados) is the lower house of the Parliament of Equatorial Guinea. Although vested with considerable powers under the country's const ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Supreme Military Council (Equatorial Guinea) History of Equatorial Guinea Politics of Equatorial Guinea Government of Equatorial Guinea Military dictatorships 1979 establishments in Equatorial Guinea 1982 disestablishments in Equatorial Guinea

History

The coup

Development

Dissolution

See also

References