29 October 1936 -- In the face of British-friendly Prime Minister Yasin al-Hashimi's attempts to consolidate dictatorial powers, and out of animosity toward the British, the Iraqi Army staged the Arab world's first coup, the Bakr Sidki coup. Iraq went through a period of instability, experiencing six political coups (extra-judicial transfers of power) until 1941, at which point a group of Nationalist Officers along with Prime Minister Rashid Ali al-Kilani came to power, setting up a security government in April 1941.