Coup Atlas Research Database
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78109101983ConspiracyCoup (actor type unspecified)

Maldives, 1983 — coup (actor type unspecified) conspiracy

Maldives (MDV)South Asia, AsiaSeptember 10, 1983

Event Summary

This entry is coded 10 September 1983, corresponding to the 1983 coup attempt against President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom of the Maldives. This was the second of three overthrow and assassination attempts Gayoom's government faced in the 1980s, following the initial 1980 attempt and preceding the serious 1988 attempt by PLOTE Tamil mercenaries that was thwarted by India's Operation Cactus. The 1980 and 1983 attempts were not considered serious by contemporaries.

Gayoom, a former university lecturer and UN ambassador elected president in 1978, had brought a period of political stability and economic development built on tourism and fisheries, but former president Ibrahim Nasir continued to plot his return, and the recurring plots pushed Gayoom toward more authoritarian rule and a crackdown on dissent. Despite the coup attempts in 1980, 1983, and 1988, Gayoom's popularity remained strong and he went on to win further presidential terms. The 10 September 1983 coding places this event within that year's attempt on Gayoom.

Researched Details

Researched

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

Target identified in Coup Atlas research: Gayoom survived the 1983 attempt and remained Asia's longest-serving president into the 2000s
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom (target)
former president Ibrahim Nasir (linked to plotting his return)
Maldivian dissidents and businessmen

Sources

In the 1980s Gayoom's government faced three attempted overthrows and assassination plots, occurring in 1980, 1983, and 1988.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia: Maldivian presidential assassination attempts open source ↗
Whereas the 1980 and 1983 coup d'etat attempts against Gayoom's presidency were not considered serious, the third attempt in November 1988 alarmed the international community.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia: 1988 Maldives coup attempt open source ↗
Despite coup attempts in 1980, 1983, and 1988, Gayoom's popularity remained strong, allowing him to win three more presidential terms.
SOURCE REVIEWED OnWar: Coup Attempt in Maldives 1983 open source ↗
Gayoom, elected in 1978, saw his rule grow more authoritarian as he began to crack down on dissent following the plots against him, with former president Nasir continuing to plot his return.
SOURCE REVIEWED AltHistory (background summary of Gayoom era) open source ↗

Editorial Note

Coded 10 Sep 1983 places the event within the 1983 coup attempt against Gayoom, the second of three 1980s attempts; located sources treat the 1983 attempt as documented but not serious and do not give a precise day. Verified/context as the 1983 Maldives attempt. First Maldives record in the run.

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
78109101983

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

Outcome and Target

Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Gayoom survived the 1983 attempt and remained Asia's longest-serving president into the 2000s.

Baseline coding: Plot discovered and disrupted before execution. 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
⚑ This citation establishes the coded baseline record; use the claim-level sources above for the researched narrative.

Baseline Source-Document Entries

Wikipedia

The Guardian

“Plot uncovered in Maldives,” September 10, 1983

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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