Libya, 1975 — military coup attempt
Event Summary
The dataset records a second Libya event dated 14 August 1975, falling within the same August 1975 coup conspiracy against Muammar Gaddafi that his regime announced it had forestalled that month. The plot, centered on members of the ruling Revolutionary Command Council and the wider Free Officers Movement, notably the planning minister Umar Muhayshi, reflected mounting discontent within the original 1969 revolutionary elite over Gaddafi's radical pan Arabism, his lavish spending on causes abroad, and his concentration of personal power at the expense of collective leadership. The two dates the dataset records in early and mid-August 1975 likely mark distinct phases or reported moments of the same unraveling conspiracy, as the plot was detected and the plotters were arrested or fled.
Gaddafi suppressed the conspiracy, and while Muhayshi escaped into exile, most of the other implicated officers were executed in March 1976. The episode marked a decisive purge of the old guard and Gaddafi's consolidation of an ever more personal dictatorship.
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
62008141975
How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.
Outcome and Target
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Muammar Gaddafi suppressed the August 1975 conspiracy and purged the old revolutionary guard.
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
Luttwak
Chicago Tribune
Times of India
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 →