Asma Mohamed Abdalla | |
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أسماء محمد عبد الله | |
 Asma in 2019 | |
| Foreign Minister of Sudan [1] | |
| In office 1 September 2019 [1] –9 July 2020 |
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Asma Mohamed Abdalla [3] (also: Asmaa, Abdallah, Abdullah; [4] [5] [2] Arabic : أسماء محمد عبد الله) is a Sudanese diplomat. She became Sudan's first female Minister of Foreign Affairs in early September 2019 in the Transitional Cabinet of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, during the 2019 Sudanese transition to democracy. [4]
Asma was born in 1946 in Khartoum. [6] She graduated in 1969 from the University of Khartoum after studying economics and political science. [2]
Asma was a Sudanese ambassador, employed by the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, prior to the Omar al-Bashir presidency. [7] She was one of the first three women employed by the Foreign Ministry. [2] [7] Asma was dismissed from the Ministry following the 1989 Sudanese coup d'état that brought Omar al-Bashir to power [8] and persecuted by the new government. [2]
According to UNICEF scanned paper records of 1990, Asma was Fourth Vice-chairman of the UNICEF Executive Board during 1990/1991. [9] : 5 A 2010 UNICEF list of the history of the UNICEF Executive Board disputes this, claiming that Chipo Zindoga from Zimbabwe was Fourth Vice-chairman during 1990/1991 and 1991/1992 and that Asma was never a member of the UNICEF Executive Board, up to and including 2010. [10]
In response to her persecution by the al-Bashir government, Asma chose to live in exile in Morocco. [2] While living in Morocco, Asma worked as a consultant to international organisations including Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO). [2]
During the 2018–19 Sudanese protests, Asma joined the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC), becoming a member of the FFC's Foreign Policy team. [2]
Asma was added by Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok to the list of candidate ministers provided to him by the FFC, on the grounds of her role in opposing the al-Bashir government, her support of the protests calling for political change, and her diplomatic experience. [2] Hamdok chose her ahead of the other candidates. Asma thus became Sudan's first female Minister of Foreign Affairs in early September 2019 in the Transitional Cabinet of the 2019 Sudanese transition to democracy. [4]
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.
The Cabinet of Sudan usually refers to the chief executive body of the Republic of the Sudan. The Cabinet was dissolved following the 11 April 2019 Sudanese coup d'état. Chapter 5 of the August 2019 Draft Constitutional Declaration defines the procedures which led to the nomination of Abdalla Hamdok as Prime Minister, and up to 20 Ministers in the Cabinet, during late August 2019, for the 39-month democratic transition. The Sudanese Women's Union protested against this. Under Article 19 of the Draft Constitutional Declaration, the ministers of the Transitional Cabinet are ineligible to run in the election scheduled to follow the transition period.
Faisal Mohamed Saleh is a Sudanese journalist and columnist for several national papers. In September 2019, Saleh was nominated as head of the national Culture and Media Council of Sudan as part of the Cabinet of Sudan during the 2019 Sudanese transition to democracy.
The Sudanese Revolution was a major shift of political power in Sudan that started with street protests throughout Sudan on 19 December 2018 and continued with sustained civil disobedience for about eight months, during which the 2019 Sudanese coup d'état deposed President Omar al-Bashir on 11 April after thirty years in power, 3 June Khartoum massacre took place under the leadership of the Transitional Military Council (TMC) that replaced al-Bashir, and in July and August 2019 the TMC and the Forces of Freedom and Change alliance (FFC) signed a Political Agreement and a Draft Constitutional Declaration legally defining a planned 39-month phase of transitional state institutions and procedures to return Sudan to a civilian democracy.
The Transitional Military Council (TMC) was the military junta governing Sudan that was established on 11 April 2019, after the 2019 Sudanese coup d'état that took place during the Sudanese Revolution, and was formally headed by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Inspector of the Armed Forces, after Ahmed Awad Ibn Auf resigned as leader one day following the coup.
Abdel Fattah al-Burhan Abdelrahman al-Burhan is a Sudanese army general who is the de facto ruler of Sudan. Following the Sudanese Revolution in April 2019, he was handed control of the military junta, the Transitional Military Council, a day after it was formed, due to protesters' dissatisfaction with the establishment ties of initial leader Ahmed Awad Ibn Auf. He served as chairman of the TMC until a draft constitutional declaration signed with civilians went into effect on the 17th of August and a collective head of state Transitional Sovereignty Council was formed, also to be initially headed by al-Burhan.
A series of political agreements among Sudanese political and military forces for a democratic transition in Sudan began in July 2019. Omar al-Bashir overthrew the democratically elected government of Sadiq al-Mahdi in 1989 and was himself overthrown in the 2019 Sudanese coup d'état, in which he was replaced by the Transitional Military Council (TMC) after months of sustained street protests. Following further protests and the 3 June Khartoum massacre, TMC and the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) alliance agreed on 5 July 2019 to a 39-month transition process to return to democracy, including the creation of executive, legislative and judicial institutions and procedures.
Several Sudanese election plans followed the Sudanese Revolution of 2019, starting with a plan to hold elections in July 2023 under the 2019 Draft Constitutional Declaration. The December 2022 "Framework Agreement" between civilian and military groups in Sudan scheduled a two-year transition to be followed by elections.
Abdalla Hamdok Al-Kinani is a Sudanese public administrator who served as the 15th Prime Minister of Sudan from 2019 to October 2021, and again from November 2021 to 2 January 2022. Prior to his appointment, Hamdok served in numerous national and international administrative positions. From November 2011 to October 2018, he was deputy executive secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). UNECA staff described Hamdok as "[a] diplomat, a humble man and a brilliant and disciplined mind". In 2020, Hamdok was named among Bloomberg's 50 Most Influential figures of the year.
The Transitional Sovereignty Council is the collective head of state of Sudan, formed on 20 August 2019, by the August 2019 Draft Constitutional Declaration. It was dissolved by Chairman Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in the October 2021 Sudanese coup d'état and reconstituted the following month with new membership, effectively changing it from a unity government to a military junta.
Nemat Abdullah Mohamed Khair is a Sudanese judge of the Sudanese Supreme Court who became Chief Justice of Sudan on 10 October 2019 until 15 May 2021. As such, under Article 29.(3) of the August 2019 Draft Constitutional Declaration, she is also the president of the Supreme Court of Sudan and is "responsible for administering the judicial authority before the Supreme Judicial Council." Khair is the first woman Chief Justice of Sudan.
Intisar el-Zein Soughayroun is a professor of archeology at the University of Khartoum. In early September 2019 Soughayroun became the Sudanese Minister for Higher Education in the Transitional Cabinet of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, during the 2019 Sudanese transition to democracy.
Walaa Issam ElBoushi is a Sudanese activist who became the Sudanese Minister of Youth and Sport in early September 2019 in the Transitional Cabinet of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, during the 2019 Sudanese transition to democracy.
Lena el-Sheikh Omer Majhoub became the Sudanese Minister of Labour and Social Development in early September 2019 in the Transitional Cabinet of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, during the 2019 Sudanese transition to democracy.
The 2019–2022 Sudanese protests were street protests in Sudan which began in mid-September 2019, during Sudan's transition to democracy, about issues which included the nomination of a new Chief Justice and Attorney General, the killing of civilians by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the toxic effects of cyanide and mercury from gold mining in Northern state and South Kordofan, opposition to a state governor in el-Gadarif and to show trials of Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) coordinators, and advocating the dismissal of previous-government officials in Red Sea, White Nile, and South Darfur. The protests follow the Sudanese Revolution's street protests and civil disobedience of the early September 2019 transfer of executive power to the country's Sovereignty Council, civilian prime minister Abdalla Hamdok, and his cabinet of ministers. Hamdok described the 39-month transition period as defined by the aims of the revolution.
The Sudanese National Human Rights Commission has been headed by Hurriya Ismail, appointed by former president Omar al-Bashir, since March 2018 or earlier and continued under her leadership during the 2019 Sudanese transition to democracy.
Jamal Aldin Omar was a general in the Sudanese Armed Forces.
The September 2021 Sudanese coup d'état attempt was a coup attempt against the Sovereignty Council of Sudan on Tuesday 21 September 2021.
On 25 October 2021, the Sudanese military, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, took control of the Government of Sudan in a military coup. At least five senior government figures were initially detained. Civilian Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok refused to declare support for the coup and on 25 October called for popular resistance; he was confined to house arrest on 26 October. Internet outages were reported. Later the same day, the Sovereignty Council was dissolved, a state of emergency was put in place, and a majority of the Hamdok Cabinet and a number of pro-government supporters were arrested. As of 5 November 2021, the list of those detained included "government ministers, members of political parties, lawyers, civil society activists, journalists, human rights defenders, and protest leaders", who were held in secret locations, without access to their families or lawyers.
Fadwa Abd al-Rahman Ali Taha is a Professor at the Department of History, University of Khartoum.
