1961 Lebanese coup d'état attempt

The 1961 Lebanese coup d'état attempt was a suppressed coup attempt in Lebanon by the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP-L) on New Year's Eve. On the last day of 1961, two SSNP-L members, company commanders in the Lebanese army, led an unsuccessful attempted lightning coup against President Fouad Chehab, supported by some 200 civilian SSNP members.[1][2] In the scholarly literature, the coup has been explained as stemming from the party's ideological preference for violence ("bullets over ballots"), its frustration at exclusion from the Lebanese state, and both political and military criticism of the rule of Fouad Chehab.[2]

1961 Lebanese coup attempt
DateDecember 31, 1961
Location
Lebanon
Belligerents
LebanonLebanese Government SSNP-L
Commanders and leaders
LebanonFouad Chehab LebanonAntoun Saad
Shawki Khairallah
Fouad Awad
Abdullah Saadeh
Units involved

This resulted in a renewed proscription and the imprisonment of many of its leaders.[3] Most of the party's known activists remained in prison or exile until a general amnesty in 1969.[1] In 1969, the party re-aligned towards Arab nationalism.[4]

Operation

Planning

The entire coup was predicated on a poorly coordinated plan with conflicting orders. Because many officers would be off duty or on holiday leave on New Year's Eve, it was chosen as the optimal date of choice to execute.

The plan involved seizing control of the Ministry of National Defense and detaining Fouad Chehab. Armed civilian squads composed of SSNP-L comrades scattered out across Beirut to link up with military rebel units which included the support of around 200 civilian SSNP members.[5] The attempt was headed by Shawki Khairallah, Antoun Saad, Fouad Awad and Abdullah Saadeh, father of current politician Salim Saadeh.[6][7][8]

Aftermath

Advisors of Chehab who allegedly witnessed armed SSNP-L partisans gathering around the central areas of Beirut rushed to the presidential palace to inform Chehab of the insurrection. This resulted in a renewed proscription and the imprisonment and/or execution of many SSNP-L leaders.[9] Most of the party's known activists remained in prison or exile until a general amnesty in 1969.[10] In 1969, the party re-aligned towards Arab nationalism.[11]

References
  1. "Behind the Terror". The Atlantic. June 1987.
  2. Beshara, Adel (2013-01-11). Lebanon: The Politics of Frustration - The Failed Coup of 1961. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-136-00614-2.
  3. U.S. Department of State, Foreign Relations of the United States Volume 17, Near East,1961–1963, (Washington, DC: GPO 1993), 383-384.
  4. "What is left of Lebanon's Syrian Social Nationalist Party?". L'Orient Today. 2021-05-27. Retrieved 2021-06-28.
  5. "Today is the 60th Anniversary of Lebanon's Forgotten Coup". Inside Arabia. 2021-12-31. Retrieved 2022-06-17.
  6. "January - The Syrian Social Nationalist Party Military Coup". monthlymagazine.com. Retrieved 2022-06-18.
  7. Leader of the coup, member of the Supreme Council, Dean of Defense, Fouad Awad www.ssnp.info
  8. محاولة انقلابية للقوميين السوريين في لبنان – موسوعة سورية السياسية, retrieved 2022-06-18
  9. U.S. Department of State, Foreign Relations of the United States Volume 17, Near East,1961–1963, (Washington, DC: GPO 1993), 383–384.
  10. "Behind the Terror". The Atlantic. June 1987.
  11. "What is left of Lebanon's Syrian Social Nationalist Party?". L'Orient Today. 27 May 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
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