On the evening of December 13, 1960, while Emperor Haile Selassie was on a state visit to Brazil, the self-styled Council of the Revolution struck in Addis Ababa. Led by Germame Neway and his older brother Brigadier General Mengistu Neway, commander of the Kebur Zabagna Imperial Guard, and supported by police commissioner Brigadier General Tsige Dibu and security chief Colonel Werqneh Gebeyehu, the plotters lured ministers and dignitaries to Guenete Leul Palace and took them hostage. By the morning of December 14 the rebels controlled most of the capital, and Crown Prince Asfaw Wossen, generally regarded as acting under duress, read a radio proclamation announcing a new reformist government in his name that for the first time publicly decried Ethiopia's chronic social and economic problems.
A US intelligence estimate traced the trigger to Imperial Bodyguard grievances over pay and status atop wider dissidence among officials and western educated modernists. Loyalist forces crushed the takeover within days.
Researched Details
Researched
Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.
Target identified in Coup Atlas research: Emperor Haile Selassie, declared deposed in absentia while on a state visit to Brazil. He was not physically harmed and regained full authority within days.
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
Germame Neway (chief plotter and ideologue)
Mengistu Neway (brigadier general, Imperial Guard commander)
Tsige Dibu (police commissioner, co-conspirator)
Werqneh Gebeyehu (security chief, co-conspirator)
Asfaw Wossen (crown prince proclaimed head of the new government)
Haile Selassie (emperor, abroad in Brazil)
Sources
A coup was attempted against Emperor Haile Selassie on 13 December 1960 by the Council of the Revolution, led by brothers Germame Neway and Brigadier General Mengistu Neway, commander of the Imperial Guard, during the emperor's state visit to Brazil; the Council gained control of most of Addis Ababa and took several ministers and other important people hostage.
The next morning, after the rebels secured most of Addis Ababa, Crown Prince Asfaw Wossen read a radio proclamation declaring a new government under his rule; it is disputed whether his reading was sincere or coerced, and it was the first time an Ethiopian leader had publicly decried the nation's chronic social and economic problems.
With the support of Police Commissioner Brigadier General Tsige Dibu and Chief of Security Colonel Werqneh Gebeyehu, the plotters on the evening of 13 December 1960 took hostage several ministers and other important figures present at Guenete Leul palace in Addis Ababa while the emperor was out of the country.
A US Special National Intelligence Estimate judged that the issue sparking the coup was Imperial Body Guard officers' dissatisfaction with low pay and declining status, atop wider dissidence among middle level officials and western educated modernists, and that the unpopularity of several plot leaders prevented the rebels from gaining the support they anticipated.
SOURCE REVIEWEDForeign Relations of the United States, 1961-1963, Volume XXI, Africa, Document 271open source ↗
Editorial Note
Historically this is classified as a failed coup: launched the evening of December 13, in control of the capital by December 14, crushed by December 17. The dataset nonetheless marks both this December 14 record and the December 17 record (id 53012171960) as Successful; this entry is read as the rebels' effective seizure of the capital and proclamation of a new government while the emperor was abroad, and the December 17 entry as the loyalist countermove that ended it. Date discrepancy: most sources date the launch to December 13, one day before this record's date.
Cross-Reference
Datasets agree. At least two of the three reference datasets we check against carry this event, and none of them disagrees about its date or its result.
Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Emperor Haile Selassie, declared deposed in absentia while on a state visit to Brazil. He was not physically harmed and regained full authority within days..
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
“Coup by Army ends reign of Selassie,” December 15, 1960
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 →