Abdel Rahim Mohammed Hussein (; born 1949) is a

Sudan 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, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

ese politician and the former Governor of

Khartoum State Khartoum State () is one of the eighteen states of Sudan. Although it is the smallest state by area (22,142 km2), it is the most populous state in Sudan—5,274,321 in the 2008 census, and officially estimated at 7,993,900 in 2018. It contai ...

. Hussein served as the longstanding Minister of National Defense of the Republic of Sudan. Hussein also served for a period as the Minister of Interior Affairs. During his term as Minister of Interior Affairs, he opened the Rabat University. Hussein was arrested in early April 2019 following a coup on 11 April which overthrew longtime president

Omar al-Bashir Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir (born 1 January 1944) is a Sudanese former military officer and politician who served as Head of state of Sudan, Sudan's head of state under various titles from 1989 until 2019, when he was deposed in 2019 Sudanese c ...

.Sudan's Omar al-Bashir forced out in coup
CNN, Eliza Mackintosh and James Griffiths, 11 April 2019

Early life

Hussein was born in 1949 Karam, part of Northern State. In 1964 he began his secondary education in Khartoum. It was here that he became an Islamist and also where he met and became close friends with

Military career

He joined the Sudanese Air Force in the 1960s, and became a leading member of the Muslim Brotherhoods military cell from the 1970s onwards. Hussein graduated from the prestigious

Cranfield University Cranfield University is a postgraduate-only public research university in the United Kingdom that specialises in science, engineering, design, technology and management. Cranfield was founded as the College of Aeronautics (CoA) in 1946. Throug ...

in 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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

with a master's degree in

aeronautical Aeronautics is the science or art involved with the study, design, and manufacturing of air flight-capable machines, and the techniques of operating aircraft and rockets within the atmosphere. While the term originally referred solely to ''ope ...

engineering in 1982. He played a major role in the

1989 Sudanese coup d'état 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

, and afterwards in 1990 became Secretary-General 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 Armed Forces and the National Islamic Front. It was the au ...

; the ruling authority of Sudan between 1989 and 1993.

Politics

Interior Minister

Following the dissolution of the

he was appointed Minister of Interior Affairs by President Bashir, a position through which he dominated Sudan's internal security services. Whilst Interior Minister he was alleged to have worked directly with

al-Qaeda , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...

during

Osama bin Laden Osama bin Laden (10 March 19572 May 2011) was a militant leader who was the founder and first general emir of al-Qaeda. Ideologically a pan-Islamist, Bin Laden participated in the Afghan ''mujahideen'' against the Soviet Union, and support ...

s time in Sudan from 1992 to 1996, and was alleged to have even provided al-Qaeda with sophisticated communications equipment. Despite being a strong Islamist, Hussein remained a loyal Bashir supporter following Bashir's rift with Hassan al-Turabi; the leader of the

National Islamic Front The National Islamic Front (NIF; ; transliterated: ''al-Jabhah al-Islamiyah al-Qawmiyah'') was an Islamist political organization founded in 1976 and led by Dr. Hassan al-Turabi that influenced the Sudanese government starting in 1979, and d ...

, and quite possibly the most influential Sudanese Islamist, who had supported Bashir in his 1989 coup attempt. Hussein has recognised the major role Turabi played in the formation of the ideology that led the 1989 coup attempt, and spoke in 2002 about how although disliked the rift with Turabi due to the intellectual and political debt they owed him, Turabi's imprisonment was in fact necessary to protect the state that Turabi had advocated for. In 2004 President Bashir appointed Hussein as his special representative for Darfur. He held this position until 2005. He lost his job as Interior Minister in 2005 after the National Assembly demanded his resignation following a scandal caused by the collapse of a police hospital he owned.

Minister of Defence

He became the Minister of National Defense in 2005, although has faced problems in this position, such as in May 2008 when he faced calls for his resignation due to security failures resulting in the 2008 attack on Omdurman and Khartoum. He has also faced problems as Defence Minister from senior army officers demanding greater independence for the Sudanese Armed Forces from the National Congress Party. He has also been unsympathetic to rapprochement with the West, and even consoled the family of one of the killers of the US Diplomat John Granville following the death of the young militant in Somalia. In a cabinet reshuffle after the 2015 Sudanese general election Hussein lost his position as Minister of Defence on 6 June 2015. He was succeeded by Mustafa Osman Obeid Salim. It became the first time since 1989 that Hussein was not part of the government.

Governor of Khartoum State

Immediately after losing his position as Minister of Defence Hussein was named governor of

. Within several days of his appointment he sacked the director general of the Khartoum State Water Corporation after protests occurred in response to water cuts. In 2017 he ordered the deportation of illegal foreigners in Khartoum, citing security concerns.

2019 arrest

On 11 April 2019, al-Bashir was overthrown in a coup and Hussein was soon afterwards arrested. On 27 May 2020, Sudan’s public prosecution service announced that Hussein had tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

and was subsequently placed in quarantine. On 15 April 2023, Hussein together with al-Bashir and at least three other allies, were moved from Kobar Prison to a military hospital. On 26 April, he and his allies were reported to have escaped from prison amid the breakout of the

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

War crimes allegations

On 2 December 2011, the

Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court is the officer of the International Criminal Court whose duties include the investigation and prosecution of the crimes under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, namely genocide ...

of the investigating the situation in Darfur, Luis Moreno Ocampo, requested a Pre-Trial Chamber of the Court to issue an arrest warrant against Abdel Rahim Mohammed Hussein for war crimes and crimes against humanity. On 1 March 2012, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Hussein, charging with 20 counts of crimes against humanity and 21 counts of war crimes. As one of Bashir's closest allies, Hussein is accused of recruiting, arming and funding police forces and the Janjaweed militia in Darfur and also reported to be leading a campaign against rebels in the south. In 2013

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...

called upon

Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...

to arrest Hussein who was in the country for a conference.

References

External links

Black voter network on SudanBashirWatch
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hussein, Abdel Rahim Mohammed 1949 births Living people Alumni of Cranfield University Defense ministers of Sudan Fugitives wanted by the International Criminal Court Governors of Khartoum State Interior ministers of Sudan Sudanese lieutenant generals People from Northern State (Sudan) 21st-century Sudanese politicians 20th-century military personnel 21st-century military personnel 20th-century Sudanese politicians National Congress Party (Sudan) politicians COVID-19 pandemic in Sudan Sudanese Islamists