Coup Atlas Research Database
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65102271954SuccessfulDissident coup

Egypt, 1954 — dissident coup

Egypt (EGY)North Africa, AfricaFebruary 27, 1954

Event Summary

In late February 1954, a power struggle inside Egypt's Revolutionary Command Council between President Mohamed Naguib and Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser produced a brief coup and counter-move. On February 25 the RCC announced Naguib's resignation, and on February 26 Nasser accepted it, placed Naguib under house arrest, and had himself proclaimed RCC chairman and prime minister. The move triggered an army mutiny and mass street protests, many led by the Muslim Brotherhood, demanding Naguib's return.

Under that pressure a faction of the RCC forced Nasser to reinstate Naguib to the presidency on February 27, though Nasser retained the premiership and real power. The reversal was temporary: Nasser used the following months to purge pro-Naguib officers and, after a failed assassination attempt in October 1954, removed Naguib entirely that November, emerging as Egypt's undisputed leader.

Researched Details

Researched

Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.

Target identified in Coup Atlas research: Mohamed Naguib, President of Egypt (forced out then reinstated within days; real power passed to Nasser)
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
Mohamed Naguib (president, briefly ousted and restored)
Gamal Abdel Nasser (RCC strongman who took the premiership)
Khaled Mohieddin (RCC member who backed Naguib's return)

Sources

On 25 February 1954 Naguib announced his resignation; on 26 February Nasser accepted it, put Naguib under house arrest, and the RCC proclaimed Nasser both chairman and prime minister, after which a mutiny and mass protests demanded Naguib's reinstatement.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia, "Gamal Abdel Nasser" open source ↗
A sizable group within the RCC, led by Khaled Mohieddin, demanded Naguib's release and return to the presidency; Nasser was forced to agree and Naguib reassumed the presidency, though Nasser became prime minister and RCC chairman, making Naguib's office largely ceremonial.
SOURCE REVIEWED New World Encyclopedia, "Muhammad Naguib" open source ↗
The RCC announced Naguib's resignation as president on 25 February 1954, saying he was demanding absolute authority; street protests brought him back to power the next day, but Nasser now held the premiership and the RCC chairmanship.
SOURCE REVIEWED New World Encyclopedia, "Muhammad Naguib" open source ↗
Over the following months Nasser gradually forced Naguib from power, formally removing him as president in November 1954 and establishing himself as the effective leader of Egypt.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia, "Egyptian Revolutionary Command Council" open source ↗

Editorial Note

The Cline dataset codes 27 February 1954 with the leader not physically harmed, matching the brief RCC coup that displaced Naguib on 26 February and his reinstatement on 27 February under popular pressure. Sources vary on whether to date Naguib's resignation to 22, 23, or 25 February. Wikipedia (two articles) and New World Encyclopedia were read directly. Nasser's decisive removal of Naguib came later, in November 1954, a separate event.

Cross-Reference

Only one dataset carries it. One of the three reference datasets we check against carries this event; the others do not list it. That is not a contradiction — the datasets cover different periods and use different thresholds — but it means the record has had less outside corroboration.

Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:

Cline Center id
65102271954

How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.

Outcome and Target

Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Mohamed Naguib, President of Egypt (forced out then reinstated within days; real power passed to Nasser).

Baseline coding: Incumbent executive removed from power. Recorded leader fate: deposed; not physically harmed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.

Baseline Dataset Citation

Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset, v2.2.2
Peyton, Buddy, Joseph Bajjalieh, Michael Martin, and Andrea Gerald. 2026. Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset. Cline Center for Advanced Social Research. V.2.2.2. February 17. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. doi: 10.13012/B2IDB-9651987_V10
⚑ This citation establishes the coded baseline record; use the claim-level sources above for the researched narrative.

Baseline Source-Document Entries

Powell and Thyne

Named in the baseline source document; no article citation was recorded.

Wikipedia

New York Times

“NAGUIB RESTORED AS EGYPT’S LEADER IN SUDDEN SWITCH,”February 28,1954“EGYPT SEEMINGLY NORMAL But Naguib Has Not Met Nasser Since Returning From Sudan,” March 4, 1954

This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →

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