List of political leaders who suspended the constitution

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The following heads of government or heads of state formally suspended provisions of the country's constitution while in office.

[edit] Suspended in full

Name Country Year Reason
Joseph Arthur Ankrah Flag of Ghana Ghana 1966
Frank Bainimarama Flag of Fiji Fiji 2000
Omar Hasan Ahmad al-Bashir Flag of Sudan Sudan 1989
Maurice Bishop Flag of Grenada Grenada 1979-1983 The Constitution was suspended following the bloodless ouster of former Prime Minister Gairy, yet simultaneously some rights protections were enacted under the The People's Laws 1979. The declared plans for a Constitutional referendum were not carried out prior to Bishop's 1983 assassination. [1]
Jean-Bédel Bokassa Flag of the Central African Republic Central African Republic 1966
Sonthi Boonyaratglin Flag of Thailand Thailand 2006
Juan María Bordaberry Flag of Uruguay Uruguay 1973
Pierre Buyoya Flag of Burundi Burundi 1987
Pedro Carmona Flag of Venezuela Venezuela 2002 See Venezuelan coup attempt of 2002.
Lansana Conté Flag of Guinea Guinea 1984
Idriss Déby Flag of Chad Chad 1990
Jorge Serrano Elías Flag of Guatemala Guatemala 1993
Hossain Mohammad Ershad Flag of Bangladesh Bangladesh 1982
Henry George Grey, 3rd Earl Grey Flag of New Zealand New Zealand
Gyanendra Flag of Nepal Nepal 2005
Yahya Jammeh Flag of The Gambia Gambia 1994
Leabua Jonathan Flag of Lesotho Lesotho 1970
Johnny Paul Koroma Flag of Sierra Leone Sierra Leone 1997
Seyni Kountché Flag of Niger Niger 1974
Efraín Ríos Montt Flag of Guatemala Guatemala 1982
Pervez Musharraf Flag of Pakistan Pakistan 1999, 2007
Henri Namphy Flag of Haiti Haiti 1988
Milton Obote Flag of Uganda Uganda 1966
Park Chung Hee Flag of South Korea South Korea 1971
Augusto Pinochet Flag of Chile Chile 1973
Miguel Primo de Rivera Flag of Spain Spain 1923
Sitiveni Rabuka Flag of Fiji Fiji 1987
Jerry Rawlings Flag of Ghana Ghana 1981
France-Albert René Flag of the Seychelles Seychelles 1977
Mustafa Ould Salek Flag of Mauritania Mauritania 1978
Denis Sassou-Nguesso Flag of the Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo 1997-2002 According to the United States State Department: "[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-Kolelas armed opposition disrupted the transition to democracy. [...] A new Constitution was [...] approved by the people of Congo in a national referendum in January 2002." [2]
Saw Maung Flag of Burma Burma 1988
Sobhuza II Flag of Swaziland Swaziland 1973
Abdel Rahman Swar al-Dahab Flag of Sudan Sudan 1985
Amadou Toumani Touré Flag of Mali Mali 1991
Saye Zerbo Flag of Upper Volta Upper Volta 1980
Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq Flag of Pakistan Pakistan 1977

[edit] Suspended in part

Name Country Year Reason
Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir Flag of Sudan Sudan 1999
Idi Amin Flag of Uganda Uganda 1971
George W. Bush Flag of the United States United States 2006 The writ of habeas corpus was suspended for aliens detained as enemy combatants.
Alberto Fujimori Flag of Peru Peru 1992-1993 Fujimori declared that "those parts of the Constitution that were not compatible with the reorganization of the central government" were suspended. [3]
Indira Gandhi Flag of India India 1975-1977 See Indian Emergency
Adolf Hitler Flag of Germany Germany 1933 See Enabling Act of 1933.
Abraham Lincoln Flag of the United States United States 1861 The writ of habeas corpus was suspended during American Civil War.
Omar Ali Saifuddin Flag of Brunei Brunei 1962