This article lists the

heads of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and ...

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

since the country's independence in 1956.

History of the office

Since independence was proclaimed on 1 January 1956, six individuals (and three multi-member sovereignty councils) have served as

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and ...

, currently under the title President of the Republic of the Sudan. Prior to independence, Sudan was governed as a

condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership structure whereby a building is divided into several units that are each separately owned, surrounded by common areas that are jointly owned. The term can be applied to the building or complex ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

, under the name

Anglo-Egyptian Sudan Anglo-Egyptian Sudan ( ar, السودان الإنجليزي المصري ') was a condominium of the United Kingdom and Egypt in the Sudans region of northern Africa between 1899 and 1956, corresponding mostly to the territory of present-day ...

. As such, executive power was vested in a

dyarchy Diarchy (from Greek , ''di-'', "double", and , ''-arkhía'', "ruled"),Occasionally misspelled ''dyarchy'', as in the ''Encyclopaedia Britannica'' article on the colonial British institution duarchy, or duumvirate (from Latin ', "the office of ...

consisting of both countries' heads of state – at the time of independence, the

Queen of the United Kingdom The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiw ...

(

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states durin ...

) and the

Egyptian Revolutionary Command Council The Revolutionary Command Council (RCC; ''Majlis Qiyāda ath-Thawra'') was the body established to supervise the Republic of Egypt and Anglo-Egyptian Sudan after the Revolution of 1952. It initially selected Ali Maher Pasha as Prime Minister, ...

(headed by

Gamal Abdel Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein, . (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian politician who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 and introduced far-r ...

). Immediately following independence, the role of head of state was filled by a five-member Sovereignty Council, with rival

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

factions unable to agree on a single candidate. In November 1958, General

Ibrahim Abboud General Ibrahim Abboud ( ar, إبراهيم عبود; 26 October 1900, in Suakin – 8 September 1983, in Khartoum) was a Sudanese political figure who served as the head of state of Sudan between 1958 and 1964 and as president of Sudan in 1964 ...

led a military coup d'état, assuming the role of head of state as Chairman of the Supreme Council. Assuming the title of president in 1964, he resigned later that year due to general discontent around the rule of the military regime. Abboud was succeeded by a senior civil servant,

Sirr Al-Khatim Al-Khalifa Sirr Al-Khatim Al-Khalifa Al-Hassan ( ar, سر الختم الخليفة الحسن, 1 January 1919 – 18 February 2006) was a Sudanese politician, ambassador and an elite educator, who served as the 5th Prime Minister of Sudan. He was famous fo ...

, who served as acting president for 18 days before transferring executive authority to a Committee of Sovereignty.

Ismail al-Azhari Ismail al-Azhari (October 20, 1900 – August 26, 1969) ( ar, إسماعيل الأزهري) was a Sudanese nationalist and political figure. He served as the first Prime Minister of Sudan between 1954 and 1956, and as President of Sudan from ...

, the leader of the National Unionist Party, was made president in July 1965; he ruled with limited power until he was deposed in a 1969 military coup. The military officers responsible for the coup established the National Revolutionary Command Council, chaired by

Jaafar Nimeiry Jaafar Muhammad an-Nimeiry (otherwise spelled in English as Jaafar Nimeiry, Gaafar Nimeiry or Ja'far Muhammad Numayri; ar, جعفر محمد النميري; 26 April 192830 May 2009) was a Sudanese politician who served as the president of Sud ...

. Nimeiry, the leader of the newly formed

Sudanese Socialist Union The Sudanese Socialist Union (abbr. SSU; ar, الاتحاد الاشتراكي السوداني ''Al-Ittihad Al-Ishtiraki Al-Sudaniy'') was a political party in Sudan. The SSU was the country's sole legal party from 1971 until 1985, when the r ...

, assumed the position of president in 1971, and subsequently established a

one-party state A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system, or single-party system is a type of sovereign state in which only one political party has the right to form the government, usually based on the existing constitution. All other partie ...

, which existed until 1985, when a group of military officers overthrew his government and established the 1985 Transitional Military Council, led by Field Marshal

Abdel Rahman Swar al-Dahab Abdel Rahman Suwar al-Dahab (otherwise known as Suwar al-Dahab or al-Dahab; 1934 – 18 October 2018) ( ar, عبد الرحمن سوار الذهب) was the President of Sudan from 6 April 1985, to 6 May 1986. His full name has also been listed ...

Ahmed al-Mirghani Ahmad Ali Al-Mirghani ( ar, أحمد الميرغني; 16 August 1942 – 2 November 2008) was the 6th President of Sudan from May 6, 1986, to June 30, 1989, when the democratically elected government was overthrown by a military coup led by ...

succeeded to the relatively powerless position of Chairman of the Supreme Council in 1986, after multi-party election held that year. He was deposed in a 1989 military coup led by Lieutenant-General Omar al-Bashir. Al-Bashir served as head of state, under the title of Chairman of the

Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation The Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation (RCCNS-Sudan) was the governing body of Sudan following the June 1989 coup. It grew out of the collaboration between the Sudanese military and the National Islamic Front. It was the autho ...

from 1989 to 1993 and as president from 1993 to 2019 (and from 1996 as the leader of the National Congress Party). Al-Bashir was removed from power by the

Sudanese Armed Forces The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF; ar, القوات المسلحة السودانية, Al-Quwwat al-Musallaha as-Sudaniyah) are the military forces of the Republic of the Sudan. In 2011, IISS estimated the regular forces' numbers at personnel, whi ...

on 11 April 2019, amid the

Sudanese Revolution 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 Sudan ...

after holding the office for nearly 30 years. Lieutenant-General Ahmed Awad Ibn Auf took control of Sudan without becoming head of state, established the 2019 Transitional Military Council, but resigned the following day in favor of Lieutenant-General

Abdel Fattah al-Burhan Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman al-Burhan ( ar, عبد الفتاح عبد الرحمن البرهان, Abd al-FattāḥʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Burhān; born 11 July 1960) is a Sudanese politician and Sudanese Army general who is the ''de facto'' hea ...

. The Transitional Military Council was replaced with the Sovereignty Council on 20 August 2019, under the chairmanship of al-Burhan. The Sovereignty Council, an 11-member civilian-military

collective head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

, is designed to lead the country for 39 months in the

transition to democracy Democratization, or democratisation, is the transition to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction. It may be a hybrid regime in transition from an authoritarian regime to a full ...

, which is supposed to end with the next general election. The Sovereignty Council was dissolved by al-Burhan on 25 October 2021, following a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

Titles of heads of state

* 1956–1958: Sovereignty Council * 1958–1964: Chairman of the Supreme Council * 1964: President * 1964–1965: Committees of Sovereignty * 1965–1969: Chairman of the Sovereignty Council * 1969–1971: Chairman of the National Revolutionary Command Council * 1971–1985: President * 1985: Commander-in-Chief * 1985–1986: Chairman of the Transitional Military Council * 1986–1989: Chairman of the Supreme Council * 1989–1993: Chairman of the

* 1993–2019: President * 2019: Chairman of the Transitional Military Council * 2019–2021: Sovereignty Council * 2021–present: Chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council

Heads of state of Sudan (1956–present)

(Dates in italics indicate ''de facto'' continuation of office)

Timeline

Latest election

Notes

References

External links

Official website of the President of Sudan
{{Heads of state and government of Africa Government of Sudan History of Sudan

1956 establishments in Sudan

Heads of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and ...