Babiker Awadalla (; 2 March 1917 – 17 January 2019) was a Sudanese politician and Arab nationalist figure who was Prime Minister of Sudan from 25 May 1969 to 27 October 1969.

Early life and education

Awadalla was born in the White Nile State on 2 March 1917. In 1940, he graduated from the Gordon Memorial College law school.

Career

Awadalla held the position of Speaker of the lower house of the Sudanese legislature from 1954 to 1957. In 1964, he provided the drive to start the October Revolution by siding against the military in charge of Sudan. After the revolution, he became Sudan's Chief Justice in 1964. In 1967, Awadalla resigned from his position as Chief Justice in protest of the government's refusal to reinstate the

Sudanese Communist Party The Sudanese Communist Party ( abbr. SCP; ) is a communist party in Sudan. Founded in 1946, it was a major force in Sudanese politics in the early post-independence years, and was one of the two most influential communist parties in the Arab ...

, which the nation's courts had held to be unconstitutionally banned from parliament.

Cabinet

Awadalla was part of the coup of May 1969 that started Gaafar Nimeiry's presidency. In

Gaafar Nimeiry Gaafar Muhammad an-Nimeiry (otherwise spelled in English as Gaafar Nimeiry, Jaafar Nimeiry, or Ja'far Muhammad Numayri; ; 1 January 193030 May 2009) was a Sudanese military officer and politician who served as the fourth president of Sudan, hea ...

's military cabinet, Awadalla was the only civilian member on the National Revolutionary Command Council. Awadalla was selected as both Prime Minister and Foreign Minister on 25 May 1969. His position as Prime Minister ended on 27 October 1969 and he kept his position as Foreign Minister of Sudan until 1971. After finishing his previous positions, Awadalla held the positions of Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister in 1971. Next he was

Vice President of Sudan 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 List ...

from 1972 to 1973.

United Nations

During a General Assembly meeting on 23 September 1969, Awadalla warned that the United States's decision of supporting Israel during the Arab-Israel conflict could provoke the use of nuclear weapons in the Middle East.

Later life and death

After 1972 Awadalla moved to

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, and later

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, where he was reported to be living in May 2017 and became a

centenarian A centenarian is a person who has reached the age of 100. Because life expectancies at birth worldwide are well below 100, the term is invariably associated with longevity. The United Nations estimated that there were 316,600 living centenarian ...

in the same year. Awadalla died on 17 January 2019, at the age of 101 of natural causes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Awadalla, Babiker 1917 births 2019 deaths People from White Nile State Vice presidents of Sudan Foreign ministers of Sudan Speakers of the National Assembly (Sudan) Sudanese judges Prime ministers of Sudan Sudanese Arab nationalists Sudanese emigrants to Ireland Sudanese men centenarians Sudanese expatriates in Egypt Gordon Memorial College alumni