Ghana, 1982 — dissident coup attempt
Event Summary
The dataset records an attempted dissident coup in Ghana on 23 November 1982 against the Provisional National Defence Council government of Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings, who had seized power for the second time in the 31 December 1981 coup that overthrew the elected civilian government of Hilla Limann. Rawlings's radical, populist military regime, governing amid severe economic crisis, was unstable in its early phase and faced a series of coup and countercoup attempts from disaffected soldiers, rival leftists, and elements opposed to his rule. The November 1982 attempt was one of several plots Rawlings weathered in 1982 and 1983, some involving former comrades.
It was suppressed, and the plotters were arrested and in some cases executed. Rawlings survived this and further challenges, consolidated his hold on power, and eventually steered Ghana toward economic reform and, in the 1990s, a transition to multiparty democracy, winning elections and ruling as civilian president until 2001.
Researched Details
Researched
Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.
Sources
Editorial Note
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:
- Cline Center id
45211231982- Albrecht/Koehler/Schutz (CAM) id
CAM-452-1982-11-23
How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.
Outcome and Target
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings survived the November 1982 coup attempt and consolidated his PNDC government.
Baseline coding: Coup attempt failed to remove the incumbent. Recorded leader fate: remained in office; not physically harmed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.
Baseline Dataset Citation
Baseline Source-Document Entries
CSP
Chicago Tribune
Boston Globe
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 →