Ghana, 1983 — dissident coup attempt
Event Summary
The dataset records an attempted dissident coup in Ghana on 19 June 1983 against the Provisional National Defence Council of Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings, part of a wave of plots that battered his regime during its most fragile period, when Ghana was gripped by economic collapse, famine, and the disruption of nearly a million Ghanaians expelled from Nigeria. In mid-1983 Rawlings faced one of the most serious of these attempts, an armed rising by dissident soldiers, some of them former supporters, who attacked key targets in Accra including the Broadcasting House and attempted to free detainees and seize power. The revolt was put down by forces loyal to Rawlings after fighting, and the plotters were captured or killed, with several later executed.
Rawlings survived this challenge, as he had earlier ones, and went on to consolidate his rule, adopting an economic recovery program that stabilized the country and, over the following decade, presiding over Ghana's transition back to constitutional democratic government.
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
45206191983- Albrecht/Koehler/Schutz (CAM) id
CAM-452-1983-06-19
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 June 1983 coup attempt and consolidated his rule.
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
The Guardian
Boston Globe
New York Times
Washington Post
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 →