On 28 November 1966,

Michel Micombero Michel Micombero (26 August 194016 July 1983) was a Burundian politician and army officer who ruled the country as ''de facto'' military dictator for the decade between 1966 and 1976. He was the last Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Burundi fro ...

, Burundi's 26-year-old

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

, ousted the 19-year-old king (''mwami'') of Burundi, 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 The Kingdom of Burundi (french: Royaume du Burundi) or Kingdom of Urundi (''Royaume d'Urundi'') was a Bantu kingdom in the modern-day Republic of Burundi. The Ganwa monarchs (with the title of ''mwami'') ruled over both Hutus and Tutsis. Created ...

became a republic with Micombero as its first

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

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

October 1965 The following events occurred in October 1965: October 1, 1965 (Friday) *Members of the 30 September Movement assassinated six Indonesian Army generals in an abortive ''coup d'état''. Other victims included the 5-year-old daughter of Gener ...

and July 1966) followed the assassination of the country's Prime Minister,

Pierre Ngendandumwe Pierre Ngendandumwe (1930 – 15 January 1965) was a Burundian politician. He was a member of the Union for National Progress and was an ethnic Hutu. On 18 June 1963, about a year after Burundi gained independence and amidst efforts to bring abou ...

on 15 January 1965, and the country's first

parliamentary election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-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. On 8 July 1966 Crown Prince Charles Ndizeye announced that he was assuming the role of head of state of Burundi. He suspended the

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 Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

, dismissed Prime Minister

Léopold Biha Léopold Bihumugani or Biha (1919–2003) was a Burundian politician who served as Prime Minister of Burundi from 13 September 1965 until 8 July 1966. A Ganwa born to a chief in Ruanda-Urundi, he became a close confidant of Mwami Mwambutsa IV in ...

, and asked Captain

to form a new government. On 12 July Micombero's government was installed with himself as prime minister. On 1 September, Ndizeye had himself crowned as ''Mwami'' Ntare V. Tension developed between Ntare, who wanted to actively rule as a monarch, and Micombero's government, which had aligned itself to reform and saw little need for an involved king.

Events

In his first move, Micombero announced the dissolution of the royal government and assumed the prerogatives of the head of state.

Artémon Simbananiye Artémon Simbananiye (born 1935) is a Burundian retired politician. Early life Artémon Simbananiye was born in 1935 in Bihanga, a settlement near Matana in Bururi Province, Ruanda-Urundi. Ethnically, he is a part of the Babanda clan of the Tut ...

, who served as

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...

, was appointed Prosecutor General of the Republic. The governors of the

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

were replaced by

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

s. Before the formation of the new government, the National Revolutionary Committee was established on a temporary basis under the chairmanship of Micombero, which consisted only of officers. Le Monde (30 novembre 1966):
Le roi Ntare V est déposé par le capitaine Micombero qui devient président de la République
. Speaking on the radio, Micombero said:

Aftermath

There was little overt public response to Micombero's coup, and administration officials noted that rural residents seemed to be in a "stupor" in wake of the takeover. The new regime requested that its local officials report on how the population received its assumption of power. Some farmers feared civil war and refused to tend to their plots while citizens in the

commune of Busiga The commune of Busiga is a commune of Ngozi Province Ngozi Province is one of the 18 provinces of Burundi. The name Ngozi stands for ''blessing''. Communes It is divided administratively into the following communes: * Commune of Busiga * Co ...

felt that the coup meant the dissolution of the royalist

UPRONA The Union for National Progress (french: Union pour le Progrès national, UPRONA) is a nationalist political party in Burundi. It initially emerged as a nationalist united front in opposition to Belgian colonial rule but subsequently became an ...

and its usurpation by the republican Parti du Peuple. President

Grégoire Kayibanda Grégoire Kayibanda (1 May 192415 December 1976) was a Rwandan politician and revolutionary who was the first elected List of Presidents of Rwanda, President of Rwanda from 1962 to 1973. An ethnic Hutu, he was a pioneer of the Rwandan Revolutio ...

of Rwanda immediately extended his country's recognition to the new government of Burundi. Burundi's relations with Rwanda subsequently improved, and diplomatic relations between the two states were resumed.Quarterly Economic Review: Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Issues 1-1971. Economist Intelligence Unit, (1966), p. 10.

References

Works cited

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:1966 11 Burundian coup d'etat November coup

Burundi Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili language, Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French language, French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the ...

Military coups in Burundi 1960s coups d'état and coup attempts November 1966 events in Africa