9 June coup d'état
| 9 June coup d'état | |||||||
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 The leaders of the coup in the house of Ivan Rusev (the image has been restored). From left to right: Dimo Kazasov, Kimon Georgiev, Nikola Rachev, Janaki Mollov, Ivan Valkov, Aleksandar Tsankov, Khristo Kalfov, Ivan Rusev, Petar Todorov, Tsvjatko Boboshevski. |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
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Bulgarian Land Forces Military Union People's Alliance  Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO) |
 Government of Bulgaria(Bulgarian Agrarian National Union) |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Ivan Valkov (Army) Damyan Velchev (Military Union) Aleksandar Tsankov (Democratic Alliance) Todor Aleksandrov (IMRO) |
Aleksandar Stamboliyski † | ||||||
Coup successful:
Government of Aleksandar Stamboliyski deposed and replaced by one under Aleksandar Tsankov.
The Bulgarian coup d'état of 1923, also known as the 9 June coup d'état (Bulgarian: Деветоюнски преврат, Devetoyunski prevrat), was a coup d'état in Bulgaria implemented by armed forces under General Ivan Valkov's Military Union on the eve of 9 June 1923. Hestitantly legitimated by a decree of Tsar Boris III of Bulgaria, it overthrew the government of the Bulgarian Agrarian National Union headed by Aleksandar Stamboliyski and replaced it with one under Aleksandar Tsankov.
The Bulgarian army, defeated in World War I, was limited in size of 20,000 men by the Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine. A shadow of its former glory, the army retained weapons hidden away for better times. In 1919 a group of officers led by Generals Ivan Valkov and Velizar Lazarov – and joined by Kimon Georgiev and Damyan Velchev – formed the Military Union. This organization grew over the next couple of years to effectively command the army.
After the war Aleksandar Stamboliyski was released from prison in an effort to quell the civil unrest against the wartime government and Tsar Ferdinand. The result had mixed success: Ferdinand abdicated in favor of his son, Boris III, and Stamboliyski became Prime Minister in 1919. His new agrarian government brought about reforms that, although may have been popular with the farmers who comprised over 80% of the population of Bulgaria (in 1920), were unpopular amongst the upper-middle class parties. Even more dangerous for Stamboliyski's government was that the armed forces was not allowed to nominate the Minister of Defence and had no representation in cabinet since the end of the war. This meant that Stamboliyski's government had no support from the army. As the power of the Military Union grew the civilian government was in danger of being overthrown by an unloyal army.
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