On September 12, 1980 the Turkish armed forces under General Kenan Evren seized power in a bloodless coup, overthrowing the government of Prime Minister Suleyman Demirel, dissolving parliament, and suspending the constitution after years of deadly political violence between left and right. By the late 1970s Turkey was gripped by street clashes, assassinations, and paralysis in a deadlocked parliament, with the death toll from political violence running high. General Evren, chief of the general staff, announced the takeover on state radio in the early hours, saying that senior figures including Prime Minister Demirel and opposition leader Bulent Ecevit had been arrested (they were freed in October).
A National Security Council under Evren took control, military commanders were appointed to govern the provinces, and the constitution was suspended. The dataset dates this September 10, 1980 and codes the fate as not physically harmed. Civilian rule returned gradually under a new 1982 constitution.
Researched Details
Researched
Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.
Target identified in Coup Atlas research: Prime Minister Suleyman Demirel, overthrown when the military seized power (the dataset dates the event September 10, 1980; the takeover was announced September 12); he was detained and later freed, not physically harmed.
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
Suleyman Demirel (prime minister overthrown)
Kenan Evren (general who led the coup)
Bulent Ecevit (opposition leader also arrested)
Sources
Turkish Army General Kenan Evren led a military coup and overthrow of the government of Turkey, announcing the takeover in Ankara on Turkish state radio at 4:15 in the morning and saying that 118 senior government officials, including Prime Minister Suleyman Demirel and opposition leader and former prime minister Bulent Ecevit, had been arrested and taken to Istanbul, where they were freed on October 11.
SOURCE REVIEWEDWikipedia, September 1980open source ↗
General Ali Haydar Saltik was announced as head of government serving as Secretary General of the military junta referred to as the National Security Council, military commanders were appointed to govern Turkey's 67 provinces, and the Turkish constitution was suspended.
SOURCE REVIEWEDWikipedia, September 1980open source ↗
The New York Times of September 12, 1980 reported that the military in Turkey ousted the government of Premier Demirel and that the parliament was dissolved.
SOURCE REVIEWEDWikipedia, September 1980 (citing The New York Times, September 12, 1980)open source ↗
Nine days after the overthrow, former Admiral Bulent Ulusu became prime minister and formed a civilian government of 26 ministers including seven other retired military officers, while Demirel and most of the former cabinet remained in detention.
SOURCE REVIEWEDWikipedia, September 1980open source ↗
Editorial Note
Date discrepancy flagged prominently: the dataset dates this September 10, 1980, but the Turkish coup was announced and carried out on September 12, 1980 (the 1980 Turkish coup d'etat, contemporaneously reported in The New York Times of September 12); the enrichment records the dataset date while noting the widely documented actual date of September 12. Fate coding: the deposed prime minister Suleyman Demirel was arrested and detained, then freed on October 11, 1980, so not physically harmed matches the dataset. Coding note: the dataset labels this a military coup, accurately; it was a bloodless takeover by the armed forces under the chief of the general staff, Kenan Evren, who dissolved parliament, suspended the constitution, and formed a National Security Council. Context recorded: the coup followed years of intense political violence between left- and right-wing factions and parliamentary deadlock, recorded as documented background. Aftermath: the junta oversaw a new 1982 constitution and a gradual return to civilian rule, with Evren becoming president; the mass arrests, trials, and abuses under the junta are recorded as documented later developments.
How It Unfolded
Hand-coded by Coup Atlas from the sources on this page, using a fixed list of tactics. Only events we have read through carry this coding, so most records do not have it yet.
Led by
Military
How long it took
Under a day — resolved within 24 hours
Troop movements in the capital or key cities
Declaration of martial law or curfew
Mass arrests of officials, officers, or opponents
Seizure of broadcasters / coup declaration on state media
Suspension of the constitution or dissolution of institutions
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: Prime Minister Suleyman Demirel, overthrown when the military seized power (the dataset dates the event September 10, 1980; the takeover was announced September 12); he was detained and later freed, 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
“Military in Turkey Ousts Government of Premier Demirel,” by Bernard Gwertzman, September 12, 1980
“Turks Electing First Parliament Since Coup,” by Marvine Howe, November 6, 1983
“Turkish Military Loses in election,” by Marvine Howe, November 8, 1983
“Turkey Holds 5,850 ’Anarchists’,” December 2, 1980
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 →