In the evening of 16 December, a Soviet diplomat informed Sleževičius about a possible coup the following night, but Sleževičius did not take any actions. On the evening of 17 December 1926, during the 60th birthday celebrations for President Grinius, the military executed a coup d'état, taking over central military and government offices and arresting officials. Colonel Povilas Plechavičius invited Smetona, a Nationalist who had been aware of the coup beforehand, to take over as the president. Sleževičius resigned as the prime minister and Grinius was forced to appoint Voldemaras, another Nationalist figure, as his replacement. Grinius soon resigned and the Seimas, based on the votes of the Christian Democrats, elected Smetona as the new president. While initially maintaining the façade of constitutionality, Smetona dismissed the Third Seimas in April 1927, not calling for fresh elections for more than 9 years.