This article lists the

heads of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "

he head of state He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...

being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

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 ...

since the country's

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

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 is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "

being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

, 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 regime in which a building (or group of buildings) is divided into multiple units that are either each separately owned, or owned in common with exclusive rights of occupation by individual own ...

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 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 ...

, under the name

Anglo-Egyptian Sudan Anglo-Egyptian Sudan ( ') was a condominium (international law), condominium of the United Kingdom and Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt between 1899 and 1956, corresponding mostly to the territory of present-day South Sudan and Sudan. Legally, sovereig ...

. As such, executive power was vested in a

dyarchy Diarchy (from Greek , ''di-'', "double", and , ''-arkhía'', "ruled"),Occasionally spelled ''dyarchy'', as in the ''Encyclopaedia Britannica'' article on the colonial British institution duarchy, or duumvirate. is a form of government charact ...

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 form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with their powers regulated by the British cons ...

(

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

) 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 Ministe ...

(headed by

Gamal Abdel Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian military officer and revolutionary who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 a ...

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

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

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

Ibrahim Abboud Ibrahim Abboud (; 26 October 1900 – 8 September 1983) was a Sudanese military officer and political figure who served as the head of state of Sudan between 1958 and 1964 and as President of Sudan in 1964; however, he soon resigned, ending S ...

led a

military coup d'état A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

, 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 (; 1 January 1919 – 18 February 2006) was a Sudanese politician, ambassador and an elite educator, who served as the 4th Prime Minister of Sudan. He was famous for his great legacy in education and founding ...

, 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) was a Sudanese nationalist and political figure. He served as the first Prime Minister of Sudan between 1954 and 1956, and as List of heads of state of Sudan, Head of State of Sudan from ...

, the leader of the

National Unionist Party The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP; ), also referred to by itself as the Original Democratic Unionist Party, is a political party in Sudan, closely tied to the Khatmiyya Sufi order. Established in 1952 as the National Unionist Party (NUP), it i ...

, 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 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 head of state of Sudan ...

. Nimeiry, the leader of the newly formed

Sudanese Socialist Union The Sudanese Socialist Union (Abbreviation, abbr. SSU; ''Al-Ittihad Al-Ishtiraki As-Sudaniy'') was a political party in Democratic Republic of the Sudan, Sudan. The SSU was the country's One-party state, sole legal party from 1971 until 1985, w ...

, 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 governance structure in which only a single political party controls the ruling system. In a one-party state, all opposition parties are either outlawed or en ...

, 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.

Ahmed al-Mirghani Ahmad Ali Al-Mirghani (; 16 August 1941 – 2 November 2008) was a Sudanese politician who served as the third President of Sudan from 1986 to 1989, when the democratically elected government was overthrown by a military coup led by Omar al-B ...

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 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 ...

. 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 Armed Forces and the National Islamic Front. It was the au ...

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; ) are the military forces of the Republic of the Sudan. The force strength has been estimated at personnel in 2011 (by IISS), 200,000 personnel before the current war in Sudan broke out in 2023 (by the CIA), and ...

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 S ...

after holding the office for nearly 30 years. Lieutenant-General

Ahmed Awad Ibn Auf Ahmed Awad Ibn Auf (born ; ) is a Sudanese military officer and politician who served as the ''de facto'' head of state for one day from 11 April 2019 to 12 April 2019 after taking part in the 2019 Sudanese coup d'état. Auf previously served a ...

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 al-Burhan Abdelrahman al-Burhan (; born 11 July 1960) is a Sudanese army general who has been the ''de facto'' List of heads of state of Sudan, leader of Sudan since 2019. Following the Sudanese revolution, Sudanese Revolution in Ap ...

. The Transitional Military Council was replaced with the

Transitional Sovereignty Council The Transitional Sovereignty Council () is the collective head of state of Sudan, formed on 21 August 2019, by the August 2019 Draft Constitutional Declaration. The initial council was dissolved by its Chairman Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in the ...

on 21 August 2019, under the chairmanship of al-Burhan. The Sovereignty Council, an 11-member civilian-military

collective head of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "

being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

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

transition to democracy Democratization, or democratisation, is the structural government transition from an authoritarian government to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction. Whether and to what ...

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

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

. Al-Burhan reinstated it on 11 November 2021, with some members replaced.

Term limits

As of 2021, there is a two-term limit for the president in the

Constitution of Sudan The temporary ''de facto'' Constitution of Sudan () is the Draft Constitutional Declaration, which was signed by representatives of the Transitional Military Council and the Forces of Freedom and Change alliance on 4 August 2019. This replaced ...

. The term limit has not been met by any president yet.

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:

* 2021: Commander-in-Chief of the

Armed Forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a ...

* 2021–present: Transitional Sovereignty Council

Heads of state of Sudan (1956–present)

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

Timeline

Incoming election

Notes

References

External links

Official website of the President of Sudan

{{Heads of state and government of Africa Government of Sudan Political history of Sudan

1956 establishments in Sudan

Heads of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "

being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

Heads of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "

being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

History of the office

Term limits

Titles of heads of state

Heads of state of Sudan (1956–present)

Timeline

Incoming election

Notes

See also

References

External links