1965 Sharjawi coup d'état

1965 Sharjawi coup
	; Emirate of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates
Date	June 24, 1965
Location	Emirate of Sharjah25°21′27″N 55°23′27″E / 25.3575°N 55.390833°E
Result	Coup Succeeded Sheikh Saqr Al Qasimi deposed; Sheikh Khalid Al Qasimi installed; Saqr would attempt to retake the throne in 1972
Belligerents
Sharjah	Al Qasimi council; United Kingdom
Commanders and leaders
Saqr Al Qasimi	Khalid Al Qasimi; Terence Clark; Glencairn Balfour Paul
Units involved
Saqr loyalists	Trucial Oman Scouts

In 1965, in coordination with British officials, Khalid Al Qasimi, the cousin of the Sheikh of Sharjah; Saqr Al Qasimi, staged a bloodless palace coup usurping the throne to ensure British interests in the Persian Gulf.

Background

Saqr, who had been Sheikh since 1951, developed a reputation as the most politically, socially and educationally progressive of the ruling sheikhs in the Trucial States.^[1] British officials began to worry about his continued loyalty to the Empire due to his positive opinions on Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser and his sympathies for the Pan-Arab cause.^[1] With the outbreak of the Dhofar War in neighboring Oman in 1963 the British became concerned that if Oman fell to the Marixist-Leninist Popular Front for the Liberation of the Occupied Arabian Gulf that the group would make good on their promises and attempt to foster Communist uprisings in the gulf states.^[2] The British where so afraid of the gulf falling to a communist revolution that they sough to depose Arab leaders who refused to take their advice on good governance and military expansion.^[3]

Coup

Saqr would be invited to Dubai for a meeting, which was actually a trap organized by Terence Clark with the Trucial Oman Scouts ambushing and disarming the Sheikh's bodyguards.^[1] Then Glencairn Balfour Paul informed Saqr that the ruling family had decided to remove him which he attempted to protest, but disarmed, was forced to accept.^[4]^[1] Saqr would be escorted to the airport under armed guard consisting of the Scouts and two British officers, and was sent into exile in Egypt.^[2] The Al Qasimi family council then appointed Khalid the new Sheikh.^[2] The British viewed Saqr's support for pan-Arabism as an obstacle to their goal of federalizing the Trucial States into the United Arab Emirates.^[5]

Legacy

One of three British coups in short succession in the Persian Gulf, the British had also toppled the Sheikh of Abu Dhabi in 1966 and the Sultan of Oman in 1970 in order to maintain their continued interests in the region.^[3] Saqr would attempt to take back his throne after the British decolonized the Trucial States into the United Arab Emirates staging a coup in 1972 that was unsuccessful.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Ghafoor, Ahisha; Mitchell, Paul. "Secret deals ending Britain's control in Gulf revealed". BBC. Retrieved 27 March 2025.
^ ^a ^b ^c Ardemagni, Eleonora (27 October 2020). "Arab Gulf States: Expanding Roles for the Military". Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.013.1792. ISBN 978-0-19-022863-7. Retrieved 27 March 2025.
^ ^a ^b Bradshaw, Tancred; Curtis, Michael (4 March 2023). "Persian Gulf coups misrepresented". Middle Eastern Studies. 59 (2): 237–255. doi:10.1080/00263206.2022.2080196. Retrieved 27 March 2025.
^ Ulrichsen, Kristian (December 2016). The United Arab Emirates: Power, Politics and Policy-Making. Taylor & Francis. p. 47. ISBN 978-1317603108.
^ Razzaq Takriti, Abdel (1 June 2019). "Colonial Coups and the War on Popular Sovereignty". The American Historical Review. 124 (3): 878–909. doi:10.1093/ahr/rhz459.

[BBC-1] Ghafoor, Ahisha; Mitchell, Paul. "Secret deals ending Britain's control in Gulf revealed". BBC. Retrieved 27 March 2025.

[Oxford-2] Ardemagni, Eleonora (27 October 2020). "Arab Gulf States: Expanding Roles for the Military". Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.013.1792. ISBN 978-0-19-022863-7. Retrieved 27 March 2025.

[Gate-3] Bradshaw, Tancred; Curtis, Michael (4 March 2023). "Persian Gulf coups misrepresented". Middle Eastern Studies. 59 (2): 237–255. doi:10.1080/00263206.2022.2080196. Retrieved 27 March 2025.

[4] Ulrichsen, Kristian (December 2016). The United Arab Emirates: Power, Politics and Policy-Making. Taylor & Francis. p. 47. ISBN 978-1317603108.

[5] Razzaq Takriti, Abdel (1 June 2019). "Colonial Coups and the War on Popular Sovereignty". The American Historical Review. 124 (3): 878–909. doi:10.1093/ahr/rhz459.

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1950s	Buraimi dispute 1952 Egyptian revolution 1953 Iranian coup d'état Jebel Akhdar War Cyprus Emergency Suez Crisis Yemeni–Adenese clan violence 1958 Lebanon crisis 1958 Iraqi revolution 1959 Mosul uprising
1960s	Cyprus crisis of 1963–1964 Iraqi–Kurdish conflict First Iraqi–Kurdish War Second Iraqi–Kurdish War Dhofar Rebellion North Yemen civil war Feb. 1963 Iraqi coup Mar. 1963 Syrian coup Nov. 1963 Iraqi coup Aden Emergency 1964 Hama riot Israeli–Palestinian conflict 1948 Palestine war First Intifada Second Intifada 1965 Sharjawi coup d'état 1966 Syrian coup d'état 1966 Dhabyani coup d'état 1969 Saudi Arabian coup attempt
1970s	Black September in Jordan 1972 Sharjawi coup d'état attempt Yemenite War of 1972 Turkish invasion of Cyprus Shatt al-Arab clashes Lebanese Civil War Political violence in Turkey Islamist uprising in Syria 1977 Shia uprising in Iraq NDF Rebellion Yemenite War of 1979 Iranian revolution Consolidation of the Iranian revolution 1979 Qatif Uprising Grand Mosque seizure 1979–1980 Shia uprising in Iraq
1980s	Iran–Iraq War 1980 Turkish coup d'état Kurdish–Turkish conflict Turkey–PKK conflict South Yemen civil war 1986 Egyptian conscripts riot 1986 Damascus bombings 1987 Sharjawi coup d'état attempt Mecca massacre Abu Nidal's executions
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