The 1974 Cypriot coup d'état was a military coup d'état by the Cypriot National Guard and the Greek military junta of 1967–1974. On 15 July 1974 the coup plotters ousted President Makarios III and replaced him with pro-Enosis nationalist Nikos Sampson as dictator, which led to the formation of a regime described as a puppet regime. The aim of the coup was the annexation of the island by Greece and the coupists proclaimed the establishment of the "Hellenic Republic of Cyprus".