 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.