diff --git a/Modules/_ctypes/callbacks.c b/Modules/_ctypes/callbacks.c
index 97463b599bc..d2d9a6587d7 100644
--- a/Modules/_ctypes/callbacks.c
+++ b/Modules/_ctypes/callbacks.c
@@ -422,8 +422,8 @@ CThunkObject *_ctypes_alloc_callback(PyObject *callable,
 static void LoadPython(void)
 {
     if (!Py_IsInitialized()) {
-        PyEval_InitThreads();
         Py_Initialize();
+        PyEval_InitThreads();
     }
 }