List of heads of state of Sudan Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Presidency of the Republic of the Sudan
Presidential Standard
Incumbent Transitional Sovereignty Council since 11 November 2021
Executive branch of the Sudanese Government Head of state of the Republic of the Sudan
Residence	Republican Palace, Khartoum (Chairman)
Formation	17 November 1958
First holder	Five-member Sovereignty Council (collective presidency)
Salary	29,320 USD annually

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

History of the office
Term limits
Titles of heads of state
Heads of state of Sudan (1956–present)
Timeline
Incoming election
See also

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 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 (Elizabeth II) and the Egyptian Revolutionary Command Council (headed by Gamal Abdel Nasser). 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; 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. 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 (and from 1996 as the leader of the National Congress Party).

Al-Bashir was removed from power by the Sudanese Armed Forces on 11 April 2019, amid the Sudanese Revolution 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. The Transitional Military Council was replaced with the Transitional Sovereignty Council on 20 August 2019, under the chairmanship of al-Burhan. The Sovereignty Council, an 11-member civilian-military collective head of state, is designed to lead the country for 39 months in the transition to democracy, 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. 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 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 Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation
1993–2019: President
2019 : Chairman of the Transitional Military Council
2019–2021: Transitional Sovereignty Council
2021 : Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces
2021–present: Transitional Sovereignty Council

Heads of state of Sudan (1956–present)

(Dates in italics indicate de facto continuation of office)

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Elected	Term of office			Political party
No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Elected	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Political party
Republic of Sudan (1956–1969)
1		Sovereignty Council	—	1 January 1956	17 November 1958 (deposed)	2 years, 320 days	Multipartisan
2		Ibrahim Abboud (1900–1983)	—	17 November 1958	16 November 1964 (resigned)	5 years, 365 days	Military
—		Sirr Al-Khatim Al-Khalifa (1919–2006) Acting President	—	16 November 1964	3 December 1964	17 days	National Umma Party
3		First Committee of Sovereignty	—	3 December 1964	10 June 1965	189 days	Multipartisan
4		Second Committee of Sovereignty	—	10 June 1965	8 July 1965	28 days	Multipartisan
5		Ismail al-Azhari (1900–1969)	—	8 July 1965	25 May 1969 (deposed)	3 years, 321 days	Democratic Unionist Party
Democratic Republic of Sudan (1969–1985)
6		Gaafar Nimeiry (1928–2009)	1971 1977 1983	25 May 1969	6 April 1985 (deposed)	15 years, 316 days	Military / Sudanese Socialist Union
Republic of Sudan (1985–2019)
7		Abdel Rahman Swar al-Dahab (1934–2018)	—	6 April 1985	6 May 1986	1 year, 30 days	Military
8		Ahmed al-Mirghani (1941–2008)	—	6 May 1986	30 June 1989 (deposed)	3 years, 55 days	Democratic Unionist Party
9		Omar al-Bashir (born 1944)	1996 2000 2010 2015	30 June 1989	11 April 2019 (deposed)	29 years, 285 days	Military / National Congress Party
Transitional period (2019–present)
10		Ahmed Awad Ibn Auf (born 1957)	—	11 April 2019	12 April 2019 (resigned)	1 day	Military / National Congress Party
11		Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (born 1960)	—	12 April 2019	20 August 2019	130 days	Military
12		Transitional Sovereignty Council	—	20 August 2019	25 October 2021 (deposed)	2 years, 66 days	Multipartisan (FFC and TMC)
(11)		Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (born 1960)	—	25 October 2021	11 November 2021	17 days	Military
(12)		Transitional Sovereignty Council	—	11 November 2021	Incumbent	3 years, 11 days	Multipartisan