1996 — Niger's 1996 Coup

On January 27, 1996, army chief Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara seized Niger's presidential palace, toppling Mahamane Ousmane, the country's first democratically elected president. The coup ended a paralyzing power struggle between the president and his rival prime minister, a deadlock that had left the young democracy unable to govern itself.

Maïnassara did not return power to civilians. He had himself elected president within the year, trading the uniform's seizure for a ballot's blessing. The pattern closed grimly three years later, when he was assassinated by his own guard. Niger's first democratic experiment had ended in a palace coup, and its author died by one too.