1960 Ethiopian coup

The 1960 Ethiopian coup was an attempted coup d'état staged in Ethiopia on 13 December 1960. Its goal was to overthrow Emperor Haile Selassie, who was on a state visit to Brazil at the time. Four conspirators, led by Germame Neway and his older brother Brigadier General Mengistu Neway, who was commander of the Kebur Zabangna (the Imperial Bodyguard), took several ministers and other important personages hostage and gained control of most of the capital city, Addis Ababa. The coup leaders declared the regime of Haile Selassie had been deposed and announced the beginning of a new, more progressive government under the rule of Haile Selassie's eldest son, Crown Prince Asfaw Wossen, that would address the numerous economic and social problems Ethiopia faced. Despite a demonstration of support by the students of Haile Selassie University, other military units remained loyal to Selassie and crushed the coup. By 17 December, loyalists had regained control of Addis Ababa and the conspirators were either dead or had fled the capital.

The coup attempt is considered the most serious threat to Haile Selassie's rule between 1941 and his deposition in 1974 during the Ethiopian Revolution.

Germame Neway, widely seen as the motivator of the coup, was a progressive and activist governor who was frustrated in his attempts to improve the standard of living of the subjects living in the subprovinces he was assigned to govern. When he had attempted to encourage the Oromo inhabitants of Wellamu to build roads, bridges and schools, this led local landlords to agitate for his replacement. He was then reassigned to Jijiga, where he "was immediately confronted with the abject poverty and underdevelopment of the region and with obvious signs of official neglect." Concludes Bahru Zewde, "The obstruction he encountered even in these remote posts convinced him of the need for change, and he began to work with his brother to that end."

Germame then persuaded his brother, Mengistu, that a military coup was feasible. Mengistu was vital to the success of this plan, not only because he commanded the Kebur Zabangna, whose members were expected to follow orders without question, but because he had connections throughout the Ethiopian armed forces. Two more important members were recruited to form a clandestine "Council of the Revolution": the Chief of Security Colonel Warqenah Gabayahu, and Police Commissioner Brigadier General Tsege Dibu. The group began planning their move, but according to Paul Henze, fearing that their plans had already leaked out, the conspirators rushed into action without sufficient planning when the Emperor departed on a state visit to Brazil. According to the memoirs of John Spencer, Makonnen Habte-Wold had been seriously suspicious of Colonel Warqenah's activities two years prior to the attempted coup, and only five months before the conspirators acted Makonnen confided his renewed suspicions about both the Colonel as well as Brigadier General Tsege to Spencer.

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