Iraq, 1950 — coup (actor type unspecified) attempt
Event Summary
The dataset records an attempted coup in the Kingdom of Iraq on 12 February 1950 against the Hashemite monarchy's government, in the era when Regent Abd al-Ilah, ruling for the young King Faisal II, and veteran strongman Nuri al-Said dominated Iraqi politics. The monarchy's pro-British orientation was under chronic assault from nationalist officers and street opposition, resentment that had already produced the 1941 Golden Square coup and the mass protests that killed the 1948 Portsmouth Treaty, and that fed a conspiratorial officer culture modeled on past coups. The February 1950 attempt failed and the government continued, with 1950 instead remembered for the creation of the oil funded Development Board and the negotiation of higher petroleum royalties.
The monarchy ultimately fell to the Free Officers on 14 July 1958, when Faisal II and Abd al-Ilah were killed.
Researched Details
Researched
Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.
Sources
Editorial Note
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
64502121950
How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.
Outcome and Target
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: The Hashemite government under Regent Abd al-Ilah and King Faisal II survived unharmed; the monarchy fell only in the 1958 revolution.
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
New York Times
The Sun
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 →