Coup Atlas Research Database
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66007071949AttemptedDissident coup

Lebanon, 1949 — dissident coup attempt

Lebanon (LBN)Western Asia, AsiaJuly 7, 1949

Event Summary

On 4 to 7 July 1949 the Syrian Social Nationalist Party of Antoun Saadeh attempted the first coup in independent Lebanon's history, declaring what it called the first popular social revolution against the government of President Bechara El Khoury and Prime Minister Riad Al Solh. The rising, launched after the Kataeb linked destruction of the party's Beirut offices and a government move to dissolve the SSNP, aimed to seize police stations and border posts in hopes of a wider revolt, but the army suppressed it. Saadeh had gone to Damascus counting on the support of Syrian leader Husni al-Zaim, who instead handed him to the Lebanese authorities on 7 July; he was tried in secret by a military court and executed by firing squad at dawn on 8 July 1949, in what has been called the shortest and most secretive trial of a political offender.

SSNP members avenged him by assassinating Riad Al Solh in Amman in July 1951.

Researched Details

Researched

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

Target identified in Coup Atlas research: President Bechara El Khoury and the Lebanese government survived unharmed; coup leader Antoun Saadeh was executed on 8 July 1949
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
Bechara El Khoury (president of Lebanon, target)
Riad Al Solh (prime minister, later assassinated in revenge)
Antoun Saadeh (SSNP founder and coup leader, executed)
Husni al-Zaim (Syrian leader who betrayed Saadeh)

Sources

On 4 July 1949 the party declared a revolution in Lebanon in retaliation for provocations against its members; the revolt was suppressed, and Saadeh, handed over by Husni al-Zaim, was tried by a Lebanese military court and executed by firing squad at dawn on 8 July 1949, in a capture, trial, and execution lasting under 48 hours.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia, Antoun Saadeh open source ↗
On 4 July 1949, one year after the establishment of Israel and in response to repressive measures by the Kataeb backed government, the SSNP attempted its first coup in Lebanon, after which the party remained underground for an extended period.
SOURCE REVIEWED GlobalSecurity, Syrian Social Nationalist Party open source ↗
On July 4, 1949, the SSNP revolted against President Bechara Khoury, forcing the army to intervene and restore order, and the execution of Saadeh led SSNP members to assassinate former prime minister Riad As Solh in Amman on July 16, 1951.
SOURCE REVIEWED The Monthly Magazine, The Syrian Social Nationalist Party Military Coup open source ↗
The plan was to seize police stations and border outposts in the hope that the Lebanese people would rally to the cause, after tension boiled over in June 1949 when the Kataeb militia stormed the SSNP office in the Gemmayzeh neighborhood and the government announced it would dissolve the party.
SOURCE REVIEWED Christopher Solomon, Medium, The Ghost of Antoun Saadeh Looms Large Over Syria open source ↗

Editorial Note

Dataset date 7 July 1949 corresponds to the day Saadeh was handed to Lebanese authorities; the revolt was declared 4 July and his execution came 8 July, so the dataset date sits inside the event span, noted. Links forward to the SSNP's failed New Year's Eve 1961 coup against President Fuad Chehab in the dataset.

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
66007071949

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

Outcome and Target

Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: President Bechara El Khoury and the Lebanese government survived unharmed; coup leader Antoun Saadeh was executed on 8 July 1949.

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
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
Open dataset DOI ↗
⚑ This citation establishes the coded baseline record; use the claim-level sources above for the researched narrative.

Baseline Source-Document Entries

CSP

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

Wikpedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrian_Social_Nationalist_Party_in_Lebanon

Christian Science Monitor

“Lebanon Arrests Fascists, Executes Would-Be Fu¨hrer: Movement Checked Backed ‘Syrian Race’ Border Meeting Communists Well Organized,” July 12, 1949

Manchester Guardian

“ACTION AGAINST SECOND LEBANESE PARTY,” July 18, 1949

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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