From barracks to palace: Soldiers who led military coups to become state leaders

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Weeks of nationwide Gen-Z protests in Madagascar sparked by power and water shortages escalated and led to a military coup that forced President Andry Rajoelina into exile. Army officer Col. Michael Randrianirina has been sworn in as the new leader of the Indian Ocean nation.

The colonel is not the first in history to rise from the barracks to the presidential palace.

Here are five other famous military leaders who followed a similar trajectory:

Myanmar — Min Aung Hlaing

After decades of a gradual, deliberate ascent through the Myanmar military, Min Aung Hlaing was appointed joint chief of staff of the army, navy, and air force, the military’s third-highest position, in 2010. A year later, he was appointed commander-in-chief and would spend the next decade consolida