Supreme Revolutionary Council (Somalia)

The Supreme Revolutionary Council (SRC) (Somali: Gollaha Sare ee Kacaanka, Arabic: المجلس الثوري الأعلى‎‎) was the governmental body that ruled Somalia from 1969 to 1976.

On October 15, 1969, while paying a visit to the northern town of Las Anod, Somalia's then President Abdirashid Ali Shermarke was shot dead by one of his own bodyguards. His assassination was quickly followed by a military coup d'état on the afternoon of October 21, 1969 (the day after his funeral), in which the Somali Army seized power without encountering armed opposition — essentially a bloodless takeover. The putsch was spearheaded by Major General Mohamed Siad Barre, who at the time commanded the army.

Alongside Barre, the Supreme Revolutionary Council (SRC) that assumed power after President Sharmarke's assassination was led by Lieutenant Colonel Salaad Gabeyre Kediye and Chief of Police Jama Korshel. Kediye officially held the title of "Father of the Revolution," and Barre shortly afterwards became the head of the SRC. The SRC subsequently renamed the country the Somali Democratic Republic, arrested members of the former civilian government, banned political parties, dissolved the parliament and the Supreme Court, and suspended the constitution.

Following the 1969 coup d'état, the Supreme Revolutionary Council took over all the duties of the President, the National Assembly and the Council of Ministers through the proclamation of the Law Number 1. Essentially a military junta, the SRC became the de facto executive organ of the new state and consisted of 25 almost exclusively military officials. The old constitution nominally remained under perpetual suspension until the SRC later repealed it in 1970.

The revolutionary army established large-scale public works programs, including construction of the Mogadishu Stadium. It also sought to improve the social position of women, using Islamic precepts as a reference point. In addition to a nationalization program of industry and land, the new regime's foreign policy placed an emphasis on Somalia's traditional and religious links with the Arab world, eventually joining the Arab League (AL) in 1974.

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