List of political leaders who suspended the constitution
From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
The following heads of government or heads of state formally suspended provisions of the country's constitution while in office.
Suspended in full
Name | Country | Year | Reason |
---|---|---|---|
Henry George Grey, 3rd Earl Grey | ![]() |
1848[1] | The constitution put in place by the colonial office in London put all power in the hands of the small settler population. Grey suspended the constitution rather than risk all-out war with the much larger native Māori population. |
Miguel Primo de Rivera | 23x15px Spain | 1923 | |
Alexander I of Yugoslavia | ![]() |
1929-1931 | Assassination in the National Assembly led to dictatorship due to political instability. |
Ion Antonescu | ![]() |
1940–1944 | |
Joseph Arthur Ankrah | ![]() |
1966 | |
Jean-Bédel Bokassa | ![]() |
1966 | |
Milton Obote | ![]() |
1966 | |
Leabua Jonathan | ![]() |
1970 | |
Park Chung Hee | ![]() |
1971 | |
Ferdinand Marcos | ![]() |
1972 | Marcos claimed of an attempted Communist takeover of the government which he was compelled to suspend the 1935 Philippine Constitution and placed the Philippines under Martial Law. |
Augusto Pinochet | ![]() |
1973 | |
Sobhuza II | ![]() |
1973 | |
Juan María Bordaberry | ![]() |
1973 | |
Seyni Kountché | ![]() |
1974 | |
Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq | ![]() |
1977 | |
France-Albert René | 23x15px Seychelles | 1977 | |
Mustafa Ould Salek | ![]() |
1978 | |
Maurice Bishop | ![]() |
1979–1983 | The Constitution was suspended following the bloodless ouster of former Prime Minister Gairy, yet simultaneously some rights protections were enacted under The People's Laws 1979. The declared plans for a Constitutional referendum were not carried out prior to Bishop's 1983 assassination.[2] |
Saye Zerbo | ![]() |
1980 | |
Jerry Rawlings | ![]() |
1981 | |
Hossain Mohammad Ershad | ![]() |
1982 | |
Efraín Ríos Montt | ![]() |
1982 | |
Lansana Conté | ![]() |
1984 | |
Abdel Rahman Swar al-Dahab | ![]() |
1985 | |
Sitiveni Rabuka | ![]() |
1987 | |
Pierre Buyoya | ![]() |
1987 | |
Saw Maung | ![]() |
1988 | |
Henri Namphy | ![]() |
1988 | |
Omar Hasan Ahmad al-Bashir | ![]() |
1989 | |
Idriss Déby | ![]() |
1990 | |
Amadou Toumani Touré | ![]() |
1991 | |
Jorge Serrano Elías | ![]() |
1993 | |
Yahya Jammeh | ![]() |
1994 | |
Johnny Paul Koroma | ![]() |
1997 | |
Denis Sassou-Nguesso | ![]() |
1997–2002 | According to the United States State Department: "[T]he Sassou regime [...] announced that a constitutional convention would finalize a draft Constitution. However, the eruption in late 1998 of fighting between Sassou's government forces and a pro-Lissouba and pro-Kolelas armed opposition disrupted the transition to democracy. [...] A new Constitution was [...] approved by the people of Congo in a national referendum in January 2002." [3] |
Pervez Musharraf | ![]() |
1999, 2007 | |
Frank Bainimarama | ![]() |
2000 | |
Pedro Carmona | ![]() |
2002 | See Venezuelan coup attempt of 2002. |
Gyanendra | ![]() |
2005 | |
Sonthi Boonyaratglin | ![]() |
2006 | |
Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (headed by Mohamed Hussein Tantawi) | ![]() |
2011 | During the Egyptian Revolution of 2011[4] |
Suspended in part
Name | Country | Year | Reason |
---|---|---|---|
Abraham Lincoln | ![]() |
1861 | The writ of habeas corpus was suspended during American Civil War. |
Adolf Hitler | ![]() |
1933–1945 | See Enabling Act of 1933. |
Omar Ali Saifuddien III | ![]() |
1962 | |
Idi Amin | ![]() |
1971 | |
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman | ![]() |
1975 | Declared himself president for life. |
Indira Gandhi | ![]() |
1975–1977 | See Indian Emergency Disputed - This was done per provision(s) (Article 352) of the Indian Constitution, which then permitted the declaration of Emergency on the grounds of 'internal disturbance'. Later, the reasoning provided has been challenged as being dubious. The grounds for declaration of emergency under Article 352 was amended in 1978 from 'internal disturbance' to 'armed rebellion'. |
Alberto Fujimori | ![]() |
1992–1993 | Fujimori declared that "those parts of the Constitution that were not compatible with the reorganization of the central government" were suspended.[5] |
Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir | ![]() |
1999 |
See also
References
- ↑ "George Grey", Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand.
- ↑ http://www.thegrenadarevolutiononline.com/peopleslaws1979.html
- ↑ http://www.state.gov/outofdate/bgn/c/34502.htm
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://www.congreso.gob.pe/museo/mensajes/Mensaje-1992-1.pdf