The governors of pre-independence Sudan were the colonial administrators responsible for the territory of Turco-Egyptian Sudan and Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, an area equivalent to modern-day Sudan and South Sudan.
The governors of pre-independence Sudan were the colonial administrators responsible for the territory of Turco-Egyptian Sudan and Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, an area equivalent to modern-day Sudan and South Sudan.
(Dates in italics indicate de facto continuation of office)
| Tenure | Portrait | Incumbent | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turco-Egyptian Sudan | |||
| November 1820 to 1821 | Isma'il Kamil Pasha , Commander | ||
| April 1821 to September 1824 | Muhammad Bey Defterdar , Commander | ||
| September 1824 to May 1825 | Osman Bey Jarkas , Commander | ||
| May 1825 to March 1826 | Mahu Bey Urfali , Commander | ||
| March 1826 to 1835 | Ali Khurshid Agha , Governor | ||
| 1835 to June 1838 | Ali Khurshid Pasha , Hakimdar | Governor-General | |
| June 1838 to 6 October 1843 | Ahmad Pasha abu Widan , Hakimdar | Governor-General | |
| 1843 to 1845 | Ahmad Pasha Manikli (Manliki), Hakimdar | Governor-General | |
| 1845 to 1850 | Khalid Khusraw Pasha , Hakimdar | Governor-General | |
| 1850 to January 1851 | 'Abd al-Latif Pasha , Hakimdar | Governor-General | |
| January 1851 to May 1852 | Rustum Pasha Jarkas , Hakimdar | Governor-General | |
| May 1852 to 1853 | Isma'il Haqqi Pasha abu Jabal , Hakimdar | Governor-General | |
| 1853 to 1854 | Salim Pasha Sa'ib al-Jaza'irli , Hakimdar | Governor-General | |
| July 1854 to November 1854 | Ali Pasha Sirri al-Arna'ut , Hakimdar | Governor-General | |
| 1854 to 1855 | Ali Pasha Jarkas , Governor | ||
| 1856 to 1858 | Arakil Bey al-Armani , Governor | ||
| 1859 to 1861 | Hasan Bey Salama Jarkas , Governor | ||
| 1861 to 1862 | Muhammad Rasikh Bey , Governor | ||
| 1862 to 1865 | Mūsā Pasha Ḥamdī , Hakimdar | Governor-General | |
| 1865 to November 1865 | 'Umar Bey Fakhri , acting Hakimdar | acting Governor-General | |
| November 1865 to 1866 | Ja'afar Pasha Sadiq , Hakimdar | Governor-General | |
| 1866 to 5 February 1871 | Ja'afar Pasha Mazhar , Hakimdar | Governor-General | |
| 5 February 1871 to October 1872 | Ahmad Mumtaz Pasha , Hakimdar | Governor-General | |
| October 1872 to 1872 | Edhem Pasha al-Arifi at-Atqalawi , acting Hakimdar | acting Governor-General | |
| 1872 to 18 May 1877 |  | Al-Zubayr Rahma Mansur , Hakimdar | Governor-General |
| May 1877 to December 1879 |  | Charles George Gordon ("Gordon Pasha"), Hakimdar | Governor-General, 1st time |
| December 1879 to February 1882 |  | Muhammad Rauf Pasha , Hakimdar | Governor-General |
| 4 March 1882 to 11 May 1882 |  | Carl Christian Giegler ("Giegler Pasha"), acting Hakimdar | acting Governor-General |
| May 1882 to March 1883 | 'Abd al-Qadir Pasha Hilmi , Hakimdar | Governor-General | |
| March 1883 to 5 November 1883 | 'Ala al-Din Pasha Siddiq , Hakimdar | Governor-General | |
| February 1884 to 18 February 1884 | Henry Watts Russell de Coetlogon , acting Hakimdar | acting Governor-General | |
| 18 February 1884 to 26 January 1885 | | Charles George Gordon ("Gordon Pasha"), Hakimdar | Governor-General, 2nd time; Killed at the end of the Siege of Khartoum |
| 26 January 1885 to 2 October 1898 | Territory of Turkish Sudan under complete control of Mahdiyah (Mahdist State) | ||
| Mahdist State | |||
| 29 June 1881 to 22 June 1885 |  | Muhammad Ahmad , Mahdi | Self-proclaimed Mahdi, Islamic Messiah |
| 22 June 1885 to 2 September 1898 |  | Abdallahi ibn Muhammad , Khalifa | Self-proclaimed Caliph, successor to Muhammad Ahmad; Defeated in the Battle of Omdurman, and later killed in the Battle of Umm Diwaykarat |
| British Military Administration | |||
| 2 September 1898 to 19 January 1899 |  | Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener , Military Governor | Simultaneously served as Sirdar |
| Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (condominium) | |||
| 19 January 1899 to 22 December 1899 | | Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener , Governor-General | Simultaneously served as Sirdar |
| 22 December 1899 to 31 December 1916 |  | Sir Francis Reginald Wingate , Governor-General | Simultaneously served as Sirdar |
| 1 January 1917 to 20 November 1924 |  | Sir Lee Oliver Fitzmaurice Stack , Governor-General | Simultaneously served as Sirdar; assassinated in Cairo [1] |
| 21 November 1924 to 5 January 1925 | Wasey Sterry , acting Governor-General | ||
| 5 January 1925 to 6 July 1926 |  | Sir Geoffrey Francis Archer , Governor-General | The first civilian Governor-General [2] |
| 31 October 1926 to 10 January 1934 |  | Sir John Loader Maffey , Governor-General | |
| 10 January 1934 to 19 October 1940 |  | Sir George Stewart Symes , Governor-General | |
| 19 October 1940 to 8 April 1947 | Sir Hubert Jervoise Huddleston , Governor-General | ||
| 8 April 1947 to 29 March 1954 | Sir Robert George Howe , Governor-General | ||
| 29 March 1954 to 12 December 1955 |  | Sir Alexander Knox Helm , Governor-General | |
| 12 December 1955 to 1 January 1956 | Muhammad Ahmad Abu Rannat , acting Governor-General | Chief Justice of Sudan | |
| 1 January 1956 | Independence as Republic of the Sudan | ||
For continuation after independence, see: List of heads of state of Sudan
These are lists of incumbents, including heads of states or of subnational entities.
Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Egypt to the north, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the southeast, Libya to the northwest, South Sudan to the south, and the Red Sea to the east. Sudan has a population of nearly 50 million people as of 2024 and occupies 1,886,068 square kilometres, making it Africa's third-largest country by area and the third-largest by area in the Arab League. It was the largest country by area in Africa and the Arab League until the secession of South Sudan in 2011; since then both titles have been held by Algeria. Sudan's capital and most populous city is Khartoum.
The history of Sudan refers to the territory that today makes up Republic of the Sudan and the state of South Sudan, which became independent in 2011. The territory of Sudan is geographically part of a larger African region, also known by the term "Sudan". The term is derived from Arabic: بلاد السودان bilād as-sūdān, or "land of the black people", and has sometimes been used more widely referring to the Sahel belt of West and Central Africa.
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 current flag of Sudan was adopted on 20 May 1970 and consists of a horizontal red-white-black tricolour with a green triangle at the hoist. The flag is based on the Arab Liberation Flag of the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, as are the flags of Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and Palestine and formerly of the United Arab Republic, North Yemen, South Yemen, and the Libyan Arab Republic.
Darfur is a region of western Sudan. Dār is an Arabic word meaning "home [of]" – the region was named Dardaju while ruled by the Daju, who migrated from Meroë c. 350 AD, and it was renamed Dartunjur when the Tunjur ruled the area. Darfur was an independent sultanate for several hundred years until 1874, when it fell to the Sudanese warlord Rabih az-Zubayr. The region was later invaded and incorporated into Sudan by Anglo-Egyptian forces in 1916. As an administrative region, Darfur is divided into five federal states: Central Darfur, East Darfur, North Darfur, South Darfur and West Darfur. Because of the War in Darfur between Sudanese government forces and the indigenous population, the region has been in a state of humanitarian emergency and genocide since 2003. The factors include religious and ethnic rivalry, and the rivalry between farmers and herders.
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.
The Republic of the Sudan was established as an independent sovereign state upon the termination of the condominium of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, over which sovereignty had been vested jointly in Egypt and the United Kingdom. On December 19, 1955, the Sudanese parliament, under Ismail al-Azhari's leadership, unanimously adopted a declaration of independence that became effective on January 1, 1956. During the early years of the Republic, despite political divisions, a parliamentary system was established with a five member Supreme Commission as head of state. In 1958, after a military coup, General Ibrahim Abboud was installed as president. The Republic was disestablished when a coup led by Colonel Gaafar Nimeiry founded the Democratic Republic of Sudan in 1969.
The current national emblem of Sudan was adopted in 1985.
The Central Bank of Sudan was the central bank of Sudan. The bank was formed in 1960, four years after Sudan's independence. It was located in the capital Khartoum. In April 2023, the Central Bank of Sudan was hit, and destroyed.
The vice president of Sudan is the second highest political position obtainable in Sudan. Currently there is a provision for one de facto vice president, deputy chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council, who is appointed by the chairman of the council. Historically either the first or the second vice president was from Southern Sudan. From 2011 until the abolition of the post in 2019, the second vice president was from Darfur.
Contact between Egypt and Sudan goes back to trade and conflict during ancient times. In 1820, the British conquered Sudan after they had conquered Egypt, and the Egyptians entered Sudan through the British as officials, but they did not have any authority over Sudan. The British continued to occupy the country until Sudan declared independence in 1956. Sudan later joined the Arab League, of which Egypt is a founding member. Relations between successive governments in Egypt and Sudan have warmed and cooled at various times. Relations today are cordial, but tensions remain.
Southern Sudan was an autonomous region consisting of the ten southern states of Sudan between its formation in July 2005 and independence as the Republic of South Sudan in July 2011. The autonomous government was initially established in Rumbek and later moved to Juba. It was bordered by Ethiopia to the east; Kenya, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the south; and the Central African Republic to the west. To the north lies the predominantly Arab and Muslim region directly under the control of the central government. The region's autonomous status was a condition of a peace agreement between the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M) and the Government of Sudan represented by the National Congress Party ending the Second Sudanese Civil War. The conflict was Africa's longest running civil war.
The vice president of South Sudan is the second highest political position obtainable in South Sudan. Additionally, a temporary position called first vice president was created in August 2015. In 2020, a coalition agreement was reached in 2020 creating five vice presidents.
The history of South Sudan comprises the history of the territory of present-day South Sudan and the peoples inhabiting the region.
Governors-general of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
*acting | ||