The Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma, known as the Union of Burma from 1962 to 1974, was the Burmese state under the military dictatorship of Ne Win from 1962 to 1988. It was established by the Union Revolutionary Council (RC), the military junta founded by Ne Win and his allies in the Tatmadaw (Burmese military) after they overthrew the democratically elected government of Prime Minister U Nu in a coup d'état on 2 March 1962.
Following the 1962 coup d'état, the RC made the Burmese Way to Socialism Burma's state ideology. Ne Win then founded the Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP) as the country's vanguard party on 4 July 1962. For the next 26 years, Ne Win ruled Burma as a dictator, serving as both Chairman of the BSPP (later President of Burma) and Prime Minister of Burma, the country's head of state and the head of government, respectively. Ne Win's governance of Burma was characterised by isolationism, totalitarianism, superstition, xenophobia, and a rejection of Cold War politics.
Mass pro-democracy protests in 1988, popularly known as the 8888 Uprising, pressured BSPP officials, including Ne Win, to resign en masse and adopt a multi-party system. However, on 18 September 1988, the Tatmadaw staged a coup d'état against the BSPP, violently ended the protests, and established a new military junta, the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC).