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.