List of heads of state of Sudan


This article lists the heads of state of Sudan since the country's independence in 1956.

History of the office

Since independence was proclaimed on 1 January 1956, six individuals have served as head of state of Sudan, currently under the title President of the Republic of the Sudan. Prior to independence, Sudan was governed as a condominium by Egypt and the United Kingdom, under the name Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. As such, executive power was vested in a dyarchy consisting of both countries' heads of state – at the time of independence, the Queen of the United Kingdom and the Egyptian Revolutionary Command Council. Immediately following independence, the role of head of state was filled by a five-member Sovereignty Council, with rival nationalist factions unable to agree on a single candidate. In November 1958, General Ibrahim Abboud 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, who served as acting president for 18 days before transferring executive authority to a Committee of Sovereignty.
Ismail al-Azhari, the leader of the National Unionist Party, was made president in July 1965, and ruled with limited power until he was deposed in 1969. The military officers responsible for the coup established the National Revolutionary Command Council, chaired by Gaafar Nimeiry. Nimeiry, the leader of the newly formed Sudanese Socialist Union, assumed the position of president in 1971, and subsequently established a one-party state, 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 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 from 1989 to 1993 and as president from 1993 to 2019. Al-Bashir was removed from power by the Sudanese Armed Forces on 11 April 2019, amid ongoing protests 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.

Titles of heads of state

Republic of the Sudan">History of Sudan (1956–69)">Republic of the Sudan (1956–1969)

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! rowspan="2" width="100px" | Portrait
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Democratic Republic of the Sudan">History of Sudan (1969–85)">Democratic Republic of the Sudan (1969–1985)

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Republic of the Sudan">Sudan">Republic of the Sudan (1985–present)

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