Abdallah Deng Nhial

Last updated
Abdallah Deng Nhial
Born1954
NationalitySouth Sudanese
Alma mater al-Azhar University
Occupation(s)Politician and Scholar
Known forServing in both Sudanese and South Sudanese governments

Abdallah Deng Nhial (born c. 1954) is a South Sudanese politician and scholar. He has served in both Sudanese and South Sudanese governments in different positions. [1] [2]

Contents

Background

Deng is a noted Islamic scholar hailing from Southern Sudan. [3] He hails from a Dinka family, and is a relative of John Garang. [2] [4] An Arabic language teacher, Deng graduated from al-Azhar University in Cairo. [2]

National Islamic Front period

He served as Minister of Religious Affairs in the Sudanese government, but in a 1993 cabinet reshuffle he was moved to the position of Minister of Peace and Reconstruction (with the nominal task to rebuild Southern Sudan). [5] As part of his new ministerial responsibilities, he also overtook the role of Ali al-Hajj Mohammed in representing the Sudanese government in negotiations with the Sudan People's Liberation Army. [6] In 1994 he was appointed as the governor of the While Nile state. [7] [8] He also served as parliamentary whip and Minister of Youth and Sports. [2] When the National Congress Party split in 1999/2000, Deng sided with Hassan al-Turabi. [2]

Campaign for the presidency

Deng was the candidate of the Popular Congress Party in the 2010 Sudanese presidential election. He was the deputy party chief at the time. [9] His candidature was supported by 26,000 collected signatures. [2] Deng was the sole Southerner in the fray in amongst the presidential candidates. [2] In his campaign vowed to reduce poverty by fighting corruption and improving health, sanitation and education services. He expressed hope that through his candidature he would be able to convince Southerners to vote against separation in the upcoming referendum. Moreover, he stated that his party did not wish to enforce Islamic laws in Southern Sudan. [2]

At the time of the elections the Egyptian newspaper al-Ahram wrote that Deng was "... a seasoned politician who is relatively young and has an enormous political following among both southerners and northerners. He is renowned for being a devout Muslim, albeit a moderate one and a man who is widely seen as a pragmatic and a democrat in political circles." [4] Commenting on Deng's candidature, the party leader al-Turabi stated that the Popular Congress Party wished to show that it was open to all Sudanese regardless of race or ethnicity. [2] The presidential candidate of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, Yasir Arman, welcomed the nomination of Adballah, saying that the nomination broke the stereotype of Northerners vs. Southerners. [10] Deng obtained 396,139 votes (3.9% of the national vote). [11] Following the election Adballah alleged that the governing party had rigged the polls. [12]

StateVotes%
Khartoum 44,1283.25%
Northern 1,8960.86%
River Nile 3,1490.90%
Red Sea 4,8251.11%
Kassala 7,9671.22%
Gedaref 1,0960.34%
Gezira 12,4761.10%
Sennar 7,3922.05%
White Nile 6,3501.57%
North Kordufan 16,4763.02%
North Darfur 36,74211.52%
South Darfur 96,03918.80%
West Darfur 14,7546.21%
Blue Nile 8,1083.23%
South Kordufan 16,9084.56%
Upper Nile 13,3975.80%
Jonglei 8,7084.46%
Unity 11,5845.69%
Central Equatoria 17,7977.39%
East Equatoria 7,7851.94%
West Equatoria 8,9635.63%
Lakes 15,2126.71%
Warrap 3,0630.60%
Western Bahr el Ghazal 12,6128.28%
Northern Bahr el Ghazal 8,0903.23%
Out of country7581.11%

[13]

South Sudanese minister

In July 2013, Deng was appointed Minister of Electricity, Dams, Irrigation and Water Resources in the South Sudanese government. [14] A few days later he was appointed Minister of Environment in yet another reshuffle. [15] President Salva Kiir dismissed him from his post on November 26, 2013. Deng had been involved in a physical fight with a Member of Parliament the week before. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Politics of Sudan</span> Political developments in Sudan

Currently, the politics of Sudan takes place in the framework of a federal provisional government. Previously, a president was head of state, head of government, and commander-in-chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces in a de jure multi-party system. Legislative power was officially vested in both the government and in the two chambers, the National Assembly (lower) and the Council of States (higher), of the bicameral National Legislature. The judiciary is independent and obtained by the Constitutional Court. However, following a deadly civil war and the still ongoing genocide in Darfur, Sudan was widely recognized as a totalitarian state where all effective political power was held by President Omar al-Bashir and his National Congress Party (NCP). However, al-Bashir and the NCP were ousted in a military coup which occurred on April 11, 2019. The government of Sudan was then led by the Transitional Military Council or TMC. On 20 August 2019, the TMC dissolved giving its authority over to the Sovereignty Council of Sudan, who were planned to govern for 39 months until 2022, in the process of transitioning to democracy. However, the Sovereignty Council and the Sudanese government were dissolved in October 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hassan al-Turabi</span> Sudanese religious and political leader (1932–2016)

Hassan al-Turabi was a Sudanese politician and scholar. He was the alleged architect of the 1989 Sudanese military coup that overthrew Sadiq al-Mahdi and installed Omar al-Bashir as president. He has been called "one of the most influential figures in modern Sudanese politics" and a "longtime hard-line ideological leader". He was instrumental in institutionalizing Sharia in the northern part of the country and was frequently imprisoned in Sudan, but these "periods of detention" were "interspersed with periods of high political office".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Garang</span> Sudanese politician (1945–2005)

Dr. John Garang de Mabior was a Sudanese politician and revolutionary leader. From 1983 to 2005, he led the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) during the Second Sudanese Civil War. He briefly served as First Vice President of Sudan for three weeks, from the comprehensive peace agreement of 2005 until his death in a helicopter crash on July 30, 2005. A developmental economist by profession, Garang was a major influence on the movement that led to the foundation of South Sudan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Congress Party (Sudan)</span> 1998–2019 ruling party of Sudan

The National Congress Party was a major political party that dominated domestic politics in Sudan from its foundation until the Sudanese Revolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salva Kiir Mayardit</span> President of South Sudan since 2011

Salva Kiir Mayardit, also known as Salva Kiir, is a South Sudanese politician who has been the President of South Sudan since its independence on 9 July 2011. Prior to independence, he was the President of the Government of Southern Sudan, as well as First Vice President of Sudan, from 2005 to 2011. He was named Commander-in-Chief of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) in 2005, following the death of John Garang.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Republic of Sudan (1956–1969)</span> Defunct state in northeast Africa

The Republic of Sudan was established as an independent sovereign state on 1 January 1956 upon the termination of the condominium of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, over which sovereignty had been vested jointly in Egypt and the United Kingdom. Before 1955, however, whilst still subject to the condominium, the autonomous Sudanese government under Ismail al-Azhari had temporarily halted Sudan's progress toward self-determination, hoping to promote unity with Egypt. Despite his pro-Egyptian National Unionist Party (NUP) winning a majority in the 1953 parliamentary elections, Azhari realized that popular opinion had shifted against such a union. Azhari, who had been the major spokesman for the "unity of the Nile Valley", therefore reversed the NUP's stand and supported Sudanese independence. On December 19, 1955, the Sudanese parliament, under Azhari's leadership, unanimously adopted a declaration of independence that became effective on January 1, 1956. Azhari called for the withdrawal of foreign troops and requested the governments of Egypt and the United Kingdom to sponsor a plebiscite in advance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Democratic Republic of Sudan</span> Northeast African state (1969–1985)

On 25 May 1969, several young officers calling themselves the Free Officers Movement seized power in Sudan in a coup d'état and started the Nimeiry era, also called the May Regime, in the history of Sudan. At the conspiracy's core were nine officers led by Colonel Gaafar Nimeiry, who had been implicated in plots against the Abboud regime. Nimeiry's coup preempted plots by other groups, most of which involved army factions supported by the Sudanese Communist Party (SCP), Arab nationalists, or conservative religious groups. He justified the coup on the grounds that civilian politicians had paralyzed the decision-making process, had failed to deal with the country's economic and regional problems, and had left Sudan without a permanent constitution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Politics of South Sudan</span> Political system of South Sudan

The politics of South Sudan concern the system of government in the Republic of South Sudan, a country in East Africa, and the people, organizations, and events involved in it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 Sudanese general election</span>

General elections were held in Sudan between 11 and 15 April 2010, extended from the original end date of 13 April. The elections were held to elect the President and National Assembly of Sudan, as well as the President and Legislative Assembly of Southern Sudan. The election brought to the end the transitional period which began when the decades-long Second Sudanese Civil War ended in 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nhial Deng Nhial</span> South Sudanese military commander and politician

Lieutenant General Nhial Deng Nhial is a South Sudanese politician and a member of the ruling Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM). He was Minister of Foreign Affairs 2011 to 2013 and 2018 to 2019 after having served as the caretaker Minister of Defense since 10 July 2011. Prior to that he served as the pre-independence South Sudanese Minister of SPLA and Veteran Affairs, from 22 December 2008 until 9 July 2011.

The Sudan African National Union is a political party formed in 1963 by Saturnino Ohure and William Deng Nhial in Uganda. In the late 1960s, the party contested elections in Sudan seeking autonomy for southern Sudan within a federal structure. The exile branch of the party meanwhile supported full independence. A party with this name was represented in the Southern Sudan legislature in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yasir Arman</span> Sudanese politician (born 1952)

Yasir Said Arman is a Sudanese politician and a leading figure in the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM). He was the SPLM's deputy secretary-general for the northern sector and its spokesman. Initially he was presented as the SPLM candidate for the April 2010 presidential election, but the party later chose to boycott the presidential election. After South Sudan's independence on July 9, 2011, and the creation of a separate SPLM party in the Republic of the Sudan, Arman has become the secretary general of the SPLM-N.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deng Alor Kuol</span> Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Cabinet of South Sudan

Deng Alor Kuol is a South Sudanese politician. He has served as the minister of East African Community Affairs in President Salva Kiir Mayardit's government. He is a member of the Ngok Dinka ethnic group, and was born in Abyei region, an oil-producing border region between Northern and Southern Sudan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taban Deng Gai</span> South Sudanese politician

Taban Deng Gai is a South Sudanese politician who has been one of the Vice Presidents of South Sudan in the unity government since February 2020. He served as the First Vice President of South Sudan from 23 July 2016 to February 2020. He was mining minister before being appointed as acting first vice president.

William Deng Nhial was the political leader of the Sudan African National Union (SANU), from 1962 to 1968. He was elected unopposed. He was one of founders of the military wing of the Anyanya fighting for the independence of southern Sudan. He was ambushed and killed by Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) on 9 May 1968 at Cueibet, on his way from Rumbek to Tonj. The Sudanese government denied having authorised his assassination. Although no investigation was conducted, eyewitnesses at Cueibet village and an SANU investigation committee confirmed the SAF's part in his death.

The Liberal Party, at first called the Southern Party and later the Southern Liberal Party, was formed in Anglo-Egyptian Sudan before Sudan became independent in January 1956. Until the military coup of November 1958 the Liberals were one of the main parties representing the southern Sudanese constituencies in parliament.

The Popular Congress Party is a Islamist political party in Sudan. The party was founded by Hassan al-Turabi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 South Sudanese general election</span>

General elections were scheduled to be held in South Sudan by 9 July 2015, the first since independence. However, in light of an alleged coup d'état attempt and continuing conflict in the country this has been thrown into doubt, especially since no permanent constitution has been formulated. The South Sudan parliament voted in April 2015 to amend the country's transitional 2011 constitution to extend the presidential and parliamentary term until 9 July 2018, with 264 members in favour and a handful opposing it. It was postponed again to 2021 in July 2018. Following the peace agreement that ended the civil war, a transitional period of three years was agreed on, which would be followed by elections in 2023. In 2022, the transitional government and opposition agreed to move it to late 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mayiik Ayii Deng</span> South Sudanese politician

Mayiik Ayii Deng is a South Sudanese politician and a former Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, He was appointed into the office following Republican decree by the President removing Beatrice Khamisa Wani in September 2021 and was fired in March 2023.

References

  1. 1 2 Sudan Tribune. Salva Kiir dismisses environment minister after fight
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Reuters. CORRECTED - FACTBOX-Sudan's main presidential candidates
  3. Wani, Abdalla Keri. Islam in Southern Sudan: Its Impact, Past, Present and Future . Khartoum: Khartoum University Press, 2006. p. 201
  4. 1 2 Al-Ahram. Second best choice Archived March 27, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  5. Lesch, Ann Mosely. The Sudan: Contested National Identities . Bloomington [u.a.]: Indiana Univ. Press [u.a.], 1998. p. 117
  6. Keesing's Record of World Events , Vol. 39. Longman, 1993
  7. Sudanow , Vol. 19. Ministry of Culture and Information, 1994. pp. 8, 14
  8. Africa Research Bulletin: Political, social, and cultural series , Vol. 31–32. Blackwell, 1994. p. 1330
  9. "Sudan Islamists name presidential candidate", AFP, January 2, 2010.
  10. Radio Miraya. SPLM welcomes nomination of Abdallah Deng Nhial for President of Sudan Archived 2013-10-18 at the Wayback Machine
  11. Dagne, Theodore S. Sudan The Crisis in Darfur and Status of the North-South Peace Agreement . [Washington, D.C.]: Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress, 2010. p. 2
  12. BBC News. Sudan opposition claims video shows election fraud
  13. European Union. Election Observation Mission to Sudan - Executive and Legislative Elections 2010
  14. reliefweb.int. South Sudan’s Kiir names new cabinet, leaves out VP post
  15. gurtong.net. President Kiir Reshuffles New Cabinet, Ministries Increased Archived 2016-10-23 at the Wayback Machine