1974 Burmese coup d'état

A military coup d'état in the Socialist Republic of Burma was carried out by several senior members of the Burmese Armed Forces (Tatmadaw) on 17 September 1974 and has resulted in the overthrow of the Burmese Socialist Party Programme and the ejection of General Ne Win from the state presidency.

The Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma, proclaimed just few months before, on March, faced several political and economic issues that were rapidly deteriorating. Ne Win decided to adopt an autarchic economic system to avoid bad luck, closed off all imports and exports and isolated Burma from the outside world. The Burma Socialist Programme Party was transformed in a tool used by the leadership to legitimize it's government in front of the citizenry. In June 1974, several riots were organized by students in Rangoon to protest the poor conditions and totalitarianism. Ne Win imposed draconian measures to counter the protests, including the kidnapping of rioters who were brought to the jungles and executed there. The renewed offensive of rebel groups in Shan states against the central government and general unrest caused internal factions of the military to intervene.

On the morning of 17 September 1974, Brigadier General Saw Maung, along with Lieutenant Colonel Than Shwe and Colonel Maung Aye, mobilized the 4th Field Army and moved towards Rangoon, whereby 2 PM government buildings were seized while Ne Win was away during a state visit in Vietnam. Nextly, at 3:45 PM, Saw Maung addressed the nation through a radio speech, announcing the introduction of Martial Law for an indefinite period of time and the creation of the State Law and Order Council, an institution which would have "saved the nation from imminent collapse".

Aftermath
On 20 September, the Junta dissolved the House of Nationalities, outlawed the Burmese Socialist Party Programme with hundreds of arrests following suit, and executives were accused of "mismanagement" and high treason, leading to life sentences and executions. Because student organizations were active all over the nation, the SLOC declared political activism as "inactive". The Junta took control of all the media and radio stations and broadcasted bulletins daily. The military abruptly adopted an anti-communist stance and suppressed leftist groups, including rebel organizations in East Myanmar.

Initially, there were three leaders of the Junta, self-promoted General Saw Maung, and colonels Than Shwe and Maung Aye. However, by 1977, the two officers were sidelined and by 1981 they were effectively sidelined and removed from the State Law and Order Council, which later became the State Administration Council. As a replacement, Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt was appointed as Secretary of the State Administration Council and Vice President of the Republic of Burma on 10 March 1985.

As the position of President became vacant, Saw Maung was recognized by the Junta as the new President of Burma on 28 September 1974, and abolished the post of Prime Minister, creating the vice presidential position instead. On 2 October, a comprehensive document indicating the future policies of the Junta was released, which included the removal of socialist policies to be replaced with the implementation of neo-liberalism and a friendly approach to Western powers.

On 17 December, the United States recognized Maung government as legitimate. This followed suit by the UN general assembly on 20 December.