Gaafar Nimeiry
Gaafar Muhammad an-Nimeiry (otherwise spelled in English as Gaafar Nimeiry, Jaafar Nimeiry, or Ja'far Muhammad Numayri; Arabic: جعفر محمد النميري; 1 January 1930 – 30 May 2009) was a Sudanese politician who served as the fourth head of state of Sudan from 1969 to 1985, first as Chairman of the National Revolutionary Command Council and then as President.
Gaafar Muhammad an-Nimeiry | |
|---|---|
جعفر محمد النميري | |
Nimeiry in 1974 | |
| Chairman of the National Revolutionary Command Council | |
| In office 25 May 1969 – 12 October 1971 | |
| Deputy | Babiker Awadalla |
| Preceded by | Ismail al-Azhari (President) |
| Succeeded by | Himself (President) |
| 2nd President of Sudan | |
| In office 12 October 1971 – 6 April 1985 | |
| Vice President | First Vice Presidents Abel Alier Mohamed Al-Baghir Ahmed Abuelgasim Mohamed Hashim Second Vice Presidents Abdul Majid Hamid Khalil Omar Muhammad al-Tayib |
| Preceded by | Himself as the chairman of the National Revolutionary Command Council |
| Succeeded by | Abdel Rahman Swar al-Dahab |
| 8th Prime Minister of Sudan | |
| In office 28 October 1969 – 11 August 1976 | |
| President | Himself |
| Preceded by | Babiker Awadalla |
| Succeeded by | Rashid Bakr |
| In office 10 September 1977 – 6 April 1985 | |
| President | Himself |
| Preceded by | Rashid Bakr |
| Succeeded by | Al-Jazuli Daf'allah |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1 January 1930 Omdurman, Anglo-Egyptian Sudan |
| Died | 30 May 2009 (aged 79) Omdurman, Sudan |
| Political party |
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| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Sudan |
| Years of service | 1952–1985 |
| Rank | Field Marshal |
A military officer, he came to power after a military coup in 1969. Establishing a one-party state, with his Sudanese Socialist Union as the sole legal political entity in the country, Nimeiry pursued socialist and Pan-Arabist policies and close collaboration with Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt and Muammar Gaddafi of Libya. In 1971 Nimeiry survived a pro-Soviet coup attempt, after which he forged an alliance with Mao Zedong of China, and, eventually, with the United States as well.
In 1972 he signed the Addis Ababa Agreement, ending the First Sudanese Civil War. In his last years in power he also adopted aspects of Islamism, and in 1983 he imposed Sharia law throughout the country, precipitating the Second Sudanese Civil War. He was ousted from power in 1985 and went into exile in Egypt. He returned in 1999 and unsuccessfully ran in the presidential elections in 2000.