The coup had been masterminded by Col. Seyni Kountché and a small military group under the name of the ''Conseil Militaire Supreme'', with Kountché going on to rule the country until his death in 1987. The first action of the military government was to address the food crisis. Whilst political prisoners of the Diori regime were released after the coup and the country was stabilised, political and individual freedoms in general deteriorated during this period. There were several attempted coups (in 1975, 1976 and 1984) which were thwarted, their instigators being severely punished.