On December 24, 1990 the Suriname military, still dominated by Desi Bouterse, deposed President Ramsewak Shankar in what became known as the Telephone Coup, so-called because the army commander notified the president of his removal by phone. Bouterse had seized power in a 1980 coup and dominated Suriname through the 1980s; a civilian government under Shankar had taken office in 1988 but the military retained decisive influence. On December 24, 1990, around midnight, the acting army commander Ivan Graanoogst telephoned President Shankar to tell him he was being deposed and should stay home.
The government was dismissed and the National Assembly dissolved; Johan Kraag was appointed president on December 29, and Bouterse was reappointed army commander on December 31. Shankar was not physically harmed. International pressure forced elections in May 1991.
Researched Details
Researched
Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.
Target identified in Coup Atlas research: President Ramsewak Shankar, deposed on December 24, 1990 in the Telephone Coup by the Bouterse-dominated military; he was not physically harmed.
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
Ramsewak Shankar (president deposed)
Desi Bouterse (military strongman behind the coup)
Ivan Graanoogst (acting commander who phoned the president)
Sources
The 1990 Surinamese coup, usually referred to as the Telephone Coup, was a military coup in Suriname on 24 December 1990 carried out by the acting commander-in-chief of the Suriname National Army, Police Chief Ivan Graanoogst, and as a result President Ramsewak Shankar was dismissed from power and parliament and government were disbanded.
On 24 December 1990, around midnight, Graanoogst told President Shankar by telephone that he was being deposed and that he and his government had better stay home, on 27 December the government was dismissed and the National Assembly dissolved, Johan Kraag was appointed president on 29 December, and on 31 December Bouterse was reappointed as commander-in-chief.
On 25 February 1980 a military coup organized by Senior Sergeant Desi Bouterse had occurred in Suriname, after which Bouterse started to rule Suriname like a dictator, and the 1990 coup came during the period when he still dominated the military.
The Netherlands reacted negatively to the coup and stopped allocating development funds, and because the international community perceived the coup negatively, the army was forced under international pressure to hold the May 1991 general election with international observers, after which relations improved under President Ronald Venetiaan.
Fate coding: the deposed president Ramsewak Shankar was not physically harmed; he was simply notified by telephone that he was removed and told to stay home, matching the dataset. Coding note: the dataset labels this a military coup, accurately; it was carried out by the acting army commander and left the Bouterse-dominated military in control, with a new civilian figurehead president installed and Bouterse reappointed commander days later. The nickname, the Telephone Coup, is recorded as its distinctive feature. Arc link: this continues the Suriname thread this enrichment has tracked, following Bouterse's original February 1980 coup; it shows the military reasserting control over the 1988 civilian government. Context recorded and handled neutrally: the coup drew negative international reaction, a Dutch aid cutoff, and pressure that led to the May 1991 elections and a return to civilian rule under Venetiaan. Bloodless nature recorded. Neutrality maintained.
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:
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: President Ramsewak Shankar, deposed on December 24, 1990 in the Telephone Coup by the Bouterse-dominated military; he was not physically harmed..
Baseline coding: Incumbent executive removed from power. Recorded leader fate: deposed; 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
“Suriname Military Asserts on TV It has taken over,” December 25, 1990
“Coup Leader in Suriname Promises to Yield Power within 100 days,” December 26, 1990
“Dutch Court Orders an Investigation of ’82 Killings in Suriname,” November 26, 2000
The Economist
“World politics and current affairs,” January 5, 1991
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 →