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List of political leaders who suspended the constitution

The following heads of state and government formally suspended provisions of their state's constitution while in office.

Suspended in full

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NameCountryYearReason
Lord North
King George III of Great Britain		 Massachusetts1774Introduced the Massachusetts Government Act in Parliament rescinding the Massachusetts colonial charter, dissolving the elected legislature, and instituting martial law under the command of General Thomas Gage in retaliation for the Boston Tea Party. Resulted in the Battles of Lexington and Concord beginning the American Revolution and the United States declaring independence from Great Britain.[1]
Antonio López de Santa Anna  Mexico1835Abolished the 1824 Federal Constitution and established the Siete Leyes in their place to centralize the government. Constitution restored by José Mariano Salas after Lopez de Santa Anna's resignation after the Mexican–American War.
Henry George Grey, 3rd Earl Grey New Zealand1848[2]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.
Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte  France1851Abolished the Constitution of 1848 after a self-coup due to constitutional term limits preventing his reelection as President of France. Drafted Constitution of 1852 in its place.
Abdul Hamid II  Ottoman Empire1878Used the Russo-Turkish War as a pretext to prorogue the Ottoman General Assembly, suspend the Constitution of 1876, and execute the Constitution's author Midhat Pasha. Later reinstated the Constitution after the Young Turk Revolution in 1908.
Deodoro da Fonseca  Brazil1889Suspended the Imperial Constitution of 1823 along with abolishing the Empire of Brazil, overthrowing Emperor Pedro II, and proclaiming a republic.
Miguel Primo de Rivera  Spain1923Suspended Constitution of 1876 after leading Spanish Armed Forces coup d'etat.
Alexander I of Yugoslavia  Yugoslavia1929–1931An assassination in the National Assembly was used as a pretext for absolutism and the dissolution of the Assembly.
Kimon Georgiev  Bulgaria1934Suspended the Tarnovo Constitution after the 1934 Bulgarian coup d'état.
Carol II of Romania  Romania1938Suspended the Constitution of 1923 after performing self-coup and taking emergency powers with the assistance of Land Forces officer Ion Gigurtu.
Francisco Franco  Spain1939–1975Suspended the Constitution of 1931 after Nationalist victory in Spanish Civil War and promulgated the Fundamental Laws of the Realm in its place.
Ion Antonescu  Romania1940–1944Suspended the Constitution of 1938 after King Carol II granted him authoritarian powers. Ruled by decree until King Michael's Coup in 1944.
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Ching-kuo		  China1948–1991Effectively nullified the Constitution of 1948 with the Temporary Provisions against the Communist Rebellion instituting martial law and curtailing civil liberties under the pretext of the Chinese Civil War, the retreat to Taiwan, and the planned recapture of the Mainland. Martial law in Taiwan ended in 1987 under President Chiang Ching-kuo and the Constitution reinstated by the National Assembly in 1991 under President Lee Teng-hui after the abolition of the Kuomintang one-party state.
Fulgencio Batista  Cuba1952Suspended Constitution of 1940 after leading coup d'état against the Partido Auténtico government of President Carlos Prío Socarrás due to his poor showing in the forthcoming elections. Fidel Castro of the 26th of July Movement pledged to reinstate the 1940 Constitution in his "History Will Absolve Me" speech during the Cuban Revolution but delayed doing so after overthrowing Batista in 1959 and ultimately drafted the new 1976 Constitution.
Joseph Arthur Ankrah  Ghana1966Suspended constitution along with the National Liberation Council after military coup against the government of Kwame Nkrumah.
Jean-Bédel Bokassa  Central African Republic1966Suspended constitution during the Saint-Sylvestre coup d'état against the government of Prime Minister David Dacko. Bokassa later created the Central African Empire and declared himself Emperor. Constitution restored after the French military intervention against Bokassa in 1979.
Milton Obote  Uganda1966Suspended Parliament and the Constitution after being implicated in a gold smuggling plot with the Deputy Commander of the Uganda People's Defence Force Idi Amin.
Leabua Jonathan  Lesotho1970Suspended Constitution in a coup d'état after early results for the 1970 general election showed the ruling Basotho National Party losing to the Basutoland Congress Party.
Libyan Revolutionary Command Council (headed by Muammar Gaddafi)  Libya1969Suspended Constitution after coming to power in the 1969 Libyan revolution. Replaced it with an interim constitutional declaration.
Park Chung Hee  South Korea1972Suspended the Constitution after nearly losing power in the 1971 presidential election. Issued the Yushin Constitution and placed country under martial law.
Ferdinand Marcos  Philippines1972Marcos claimed that a supposed Communist takeover of the government compelled him to suspend the 1935 Constitution and impose martial law. Ratified the 1973 Constitution in its place and won its approval in the Ratification Cases of the Supreme Court.
Augusto Pinochet  Chile1973–1980Suspended the Constitution of 1925 after seizing power in a United States-sponsored coup d'état and constructing a military dictatorship. Ratified the Constitution of 1980 in its place.
Sobhuza II  Swaziland1973Repealed the Constitution and suspended Parliament, replacing the government with a state of absolute monarchy.
Juan María Bordaberry  Uruguay1973Used a Tupamaros general strike as pretext to dissolve the General Assembly and Constitution of 1967, establishing a civic-military dictatorship in its place. Constitution restored by Julio María Sanguinetti after the Colorado Party's electoral victory in the 1984 general election.
Seyni Kountché  Niger1974Suspended the Constitution of 1960 and dissolved the National Assembly after a military coup.
Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq  Pakistan1977–1988Suspended the Constitution after a military coup.
France-Albert René  Seychelles1977Suspended the Constitution after a coup d'état.
Mustafa Ould Salek  Mauritania1978Suspended the Constitution after a military coup.
Maurice Bishop  Grenada1979–1983The Constitution was suspended after the bloodless ouster of former Prime Minister Eric Gairy, yet some rights protections were simultaneously enacted under The People's Laws 1979. The declared plans for a Constitutional referendum were not carried out prior to Bishop's assassination in October 1983.[3]
Saye Zerbo  Upper Volta1980Suspended the Constitution after a military coup.
Jerry Rawlings  Ghana1981Suspended the Constitution after a military coup.
Hossain Mohammad Ershad  Bangladesh1982–1990Suspended the Constitution after a military coup.
Efraín Ríos Montt  Guatemala1982Suspended the Constitution after a military coup.
Lansana Conté  Guinea1984Suspended the Constitution after a military coup.
Abdel Rahman Swar al-Dahab  Sudan1985Suspended the Constitution after a military coup.
Sitiveni Rabuka  Fiji1987Suspended the Constitution during the two consecutive coups d'état.
Pierre Buyoya  Burundi1987Suspended the Constitution after a military coup.
Saw Maung
Than Shwe		  Myanmar1988–2008Suspended the Constitution after crackdown of the 8888 uprising. Ratified a new Constitution in 2008.
Henri Namphy  Haiti1988Suspended the Constitution after the June 1988 coup.
Omar Hasan Ahmad al-Bashir  Sudan1989Suspended the Constitution after a military coup.
Idriss Déby  Chad1990Suspended the Constitution after a military coup.
Amadou Toumani Touré  Mali1991Suspended the Constitution after a military coup.
Jorge Serrano Elías  Guatemala1993Suspended the Constitution during a constitutional crisis.
Yahya Jammeh  Gambia1994–2017Suspended the Constitution after a military coup.
Johnny Paul Koroma  Sierra Leone1997Suspended the Constitution after a military coup.
Denis Sassou-Nguesso  Republic of the Congo1997–2002According to the United States Department of State: "[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-Kolélas armed opposition disrupted the transition to democracy. [...] A new Constitution was [...] approved by the people of Congo in a national referendum in January 2002." [4]
Pervez Musharraf  Pakistan1999–2007See 1999 Pakistani coup d'état
Frank Bainimarama  Fiji2000See 2000 Fijian coup d'état
Pedro Carmona  Venezuela2002See 2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt
Gyanendra    Nepal2005Suspended the Constitution after a coup d'état.
Sonthi Boonyaratglin  Thailand2006Suspended the Constitution after a military coup.[5]
Josefa Iloilo  Fiji2009Suspended the Constitution during a constitutional crisis.
Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (headed by Mohamed Hussein Tantawi)  Egypt2011–2012Suspended the Constitution of 1971 during the 2011 Egyptian revolution.[6]
Prayut Chan-o-cha  Thailand2014–2019Suspended the Constitution after a military coup.
Transitional Military Council (headed by Ahmed Awad Ibn Auf)  Sudan2019–presentSuspended the Constitution after a military coup.[7]
Min Aung Hlaing  Myanmar2021–presentSuspended the Constitution after a military coup.

Suspended in part

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NameCountryYearReason
Adolf Hitler  Nazi Germany1933–1945Pressured the Reichstag into ratifying the Enabling Act allowing legislative authority after the Reichstag fire. Abrogated the Weimar Constitution without officially suspending it.
Omar Ali Saifuddien III  Brunei1962
Idi Amin  Uganda1971Partially suspended constitution one week after taking power in a coup d'état
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman  Bangladesh1975Declared himself president for life.
Indira Gandhi  India1975–1977See 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  Peru1992–1993After performing self-coup, Fujimori declared that "those parts of the Constitution that were not compatible with the reorganization of the central government" were suspended.[8]
Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir  Sudan1989–2019Partially suspended Constitution after seizing power in a coup d'état.
Pedro Sánchez  Spain2020–2021During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Spanish government declared the state of alarm, which effectively suspended some constitutional rights, like the freedom of movement. Later, it was declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court of Spain.[9][10]
Kais Saied  Tunisia2021–presentSuspended most of the Constitution after he seized governing powers, dismissed the prime minister and suspended the elected parliament.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "American Revolution | Causes, Battles, Aftermath, & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2020-01-26.
  2. ^ Taonga, New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu. "Grey, George". teara.govt.nz. Retrieved 2019-12-25.
  3. ^ "People's Laws 1979". the Grenada Revolution Online. Archived from the original on 2004-04-26. Retrieved 2019-12-25.
  4. ^ United States Department of State
  5. ^ Mydans, Seth; Fuller, Thomas (20 September 2006). "With Premier at U.N., Thai Military Stages Coup". The New York Times.
  6. ^ Mariam Fam and Maram Mazen. "Egypt Army Dissolves Parliament, Lifts Constitution". Businessweek.[dead link]
  7. ^ Osman, Muhammed; Bearak, Max (11 April 2019). "Sudan's military overthrows president following months of popular protests". Washington Post. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  8. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-06-23. Retrieved 2006-10-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. ^ "Spain's top court rules that the coronavirus state of alarm was unconstitutional". elpais.com. 14 July 2021.
  10. ^ "Court declares Spain's 2nd COVID state of alarm unconstitutional". aa.com.tr. 27 October 2021.
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