1982 Bangladeshi coup d'état

1982 military coup in Bangladesh February 2026 1982 Siege of Dhaka the Cold War March 24, 1982 Bangladesh Successful coupAbdus Sattar deposed Bangladesh Government of Bangladesh Flag of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.svg Bangladesh Nationalist Party Bangladesh Armed Forces Flag.svg Bangladesh Armed Forces Bangladesh army Bangladesh Army Bangladesh Abdus Sattar Bangladesh army H. M. Ershad Lieutenant General Hussain Muhammad Ershad, the then-chief of Army Staff of Bangladesh, led a coup d'état against the then-president of Bangladesh, Abdus Sattar, in 1982.https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2010/jun/23/archive-martial-law-coup-bangladesh From the archive, 25 March 1982: Martial law after coup in Bangladesh Bose Ajoy 2010-03-25 The Guardian 2018-12-29 en-GB 0261-3077 https://web.archive.org/web/20260203063248/https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2010/jun/23/archive-martial-law-coup-bangladesh 3 Feb 2026 live After serving initially as the Chief Martial Law Administrator and installing a civilian president, Justice A. F. M. Ahsanuddin Chowdhury, Ershad assumed presidency in 1983 and ruled until 1990. Background thumb|right|Ershad pictured in 1986. After its independence in 1971, Bangladesh saw a series of military coups, beginning with the assassination of President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on August 15, 1975, by a group of army officers, who installed Khondaker Mostaq Ahmed as president.Chowdhury 2003 36–38 The Khondaker Mostaq regime was overthrown on November 3 of the same year by pro-Mujib officers led by Brigadier Khaled Mosharraf and Colonel Shafat Jamil.Baxter 1997 93 A counter-coup on November 7 brought army chief Maj. Gen. Ziaur Rahman to power.Baxter 1997 93–94 In 1977, Ziaur Rahman assumed the post of president and handed over the post of army chief to Lt. Gen. Hussain Muhammad Ershad.Baxter 1997 96 Zia formed the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and sought to reintroduce democracy in Bangladesh,Baxter 1997 98 but in 1981, he was assassinated by a group of army officers. It was a conspiracy of Lt. Gen. Hussain Muhammad Ershad which he framed Maj. Gen. Abul Manzoor for the coup. Sortly after Lt. Gen. Hussain Muhammad Ershad killed Maj. Gen. Abul Manzoor in army custody. Although it was feared that the army would seize power again, army chief Ershad pretended to be loyal to Ziaur Rahman's civilian successor, the vice-president Justice Abdus Sattar and killed many freedom fighters blaming them of the Manzoor-led coup attempt.Baxter 1997 103 Sattar became the presidential candidate of the BNP in the 1982 election, which he won.Baxter 1997 104 Causes With the death of Ziaur Rahman, who had been an army general himself, the Bangladeshi military lost a patron and the close contact and political influence it had enjoyed with the president.Milam 2009 61 Upon taking power, Sattar, a former judge without a military background, announced that the role of the military was strictly to protect the territory and borders of the country. Army chief of staff Ershad pressured the Sattar government to concede a greater role for the military in the government, threatening to seize power if its demands were not met.Milam 2009 64 Sattar's position was also threatened by challenges to his leadership from various factions within the BNP and from opposition political parties such as the Awami League. In face of growing pressure, Sattar conceded the military's demand of creating a national security council with the military chiefs with the authority of overseeing the national defence and security policies.Baxter 1997 105 He also sacked the vice-president Mirza Nurul Hada due to pressure from Ershad. However, he tried to reaffirm his position by a relieving number of military officers of their government posts and returning them to their units. This proved to be a provocation to Ershad and the other chiefs. Coup On March 24, 1982, troops loyal to Lt. Gen. Ershad forced the president Abdus Sattar and the vice-president to resign. Ershad imposed martial law and declared himself the chief martial law administrator.The Ershad period http://countrystudies.us/bangladesh/90.htm U.S. Country Studies 2010-10-06 https://web.archive.org/web/20251220203119/http://countrystudies.us/bangladesh/90.htm 20 Dec 2025 live He appointed the chiefs of the navy and the air force as deputy chief martial law administrators. He also suspended fundamental civil rights and the Constitution of Bangladesh, but did not abrogate it. Three days after the coup, a Supreme Court of Bangladesh justice Abul Fazal Muhammad Ahsanuddin Chowdhury was appointed president by Ershad, who also took the title of president of the council of ministers. Ershad declared that he had undertaken the coup to save the country from the corruption and inefficiency of the BNP-led government. The Parliament of Bangladesh was dissolved and all political parties banned. Several hundred politicians were arrested on charges of corruption. In 1983, Ershad took over as president of Bangladesh. Seventh amendment In parliamentary elections held in 1986, the Jatiyo Party, founded by Ershad earlier that year, won an absolute majority even as opposition political parties boycotted the election.Relaxation of Martial law http://countrystudies.us/bangladesh/92.htm live https://web.archive.org/web/20251220203120/http://countrystudies.us/bangladesh/92.htm 20 Dec 2025 2010-10-06 U.S. Country Studies Ershad used his party's majority to pass the seventh amendment to the Constitution of Bangladesh, which legitimised the 1982 coup, his ascension to power and his martial law rule.Weintraub Richard 10 Nov 1986 Martial Law Ends in Bangladesh https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1986/11/11/martial-law-ends-in-bangladesh/2be0301b-5fc2-4e63-93d8-ff368b939a3b/ live https://web.archive.org/web/20251212071805/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1986/11/11/martial-law-ends-in-bangladesh/2be0301b-5fc2-4e63-93d8-ff368b939a3b/ 12 Dec 2025 The Washington Post The amendment also ratified the martial law decrees and actions of the government. In 2010, the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh officially struck down the seventh amendment and declared Ershad's coup and martial law rule as illegal.Manik Julfikar Sarkar Ashutosh 2010-08-27 Ershad's takeover also illegal http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=152462 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20220409030136/https://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-152462 9 Apr 2022 2010-10-06 The Daily StarErshad's regime illegal http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article596332.ece 2010-08-26 2010-10-06 Chennai, India The Hindu Haroon Habib https://web.archive.org/web/20100827184249/http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article596332.ece 27 August 2010 dead The verdict declared that the constitution of Bangladesh could not be subordinate to martial law, nor did it allow any temporary suspension of the constitution itself. The Supreme Court named Ershad along with Ziaur Rahman and Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad as "usurpers" of power from legitimate governments. The Supreme Court also stated that the government and parliament could decide whether or not to take action against Ershad for the illegal usurpation and pass a law to enable a trial and prevent any future usurpations. See also Military coups in Bangladesh Notes and references Notes References Baxter Craig Craig Baxter 1997 Bangladesh: From a Nation to a State Westview Press 978-0-8133-3632-9 Chowdhury Mahfuzul H. 2003 Democratization in South Asia: lessons from American institutions Ashgate Publishing 36–38 978-0-7546-3423-2 Milam William B. William Milam 2009 Bangladesh and Pakistan: flirting with failure in South Asia Columbia University Press 61–100 978-0-231-70066-5 Category:Coups d'état in Bangladesh Bangladesh Coup D'etat, 1982 Category:1982 in military history Category:1980s coups d'état Category:1982 crimes in Bangladesh Category:Hussain Muhammad Ershad Category:Military dictatorship in Bangladesh