1974 Cypriot coup d'état

The 1974 Cypriot coup d'état was a military coup d'état by the Cypriot National Guard supported by the Greek military junta. On 15 July 1974 the coup plotters ousted President Makarios III (who fled to the United Kingdom) and replaced him with pro-Enosis (union with Greece) nationalist Nikos Sampson as dictator.

In response to the coup, on 20 July 1974 Turkey invaded the island claiming that the action was compliant with the  1960 treaty of Guarantee,  taking control of the north and dividing Cyprus along what became known as the Green Line, cutting off about a third of the total territory. Sampson resigned, the military regime that had appointed him collapsed, and Makarios returned. The Turkish Cypriots established an independent government for what they called the Turkish Federated State of Cyprus (TFSC), with Rauf Denktaş as president. In 1983 they would proclaim the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus on the northern part of the island, which remains a de facto state to the present day.