Asma Mohamed Abdalla (also: ''Asmaa'', ''Abdallah'', ''Abdullah''; ar, أسماء محمد عبد الله) is a Sudanese diplomat. She became Sudan's first female

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

in early September 2019 in the Transitional

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

of Prime Minister

Abdalla Hamdok Abdalla Hamdok Al-Kinani (also transliterated ''Abdallah'', ''Hamdouk'', '' AlKinani''; ar, عبدالله حمدوك الكناني; born 1 January 1956) is a Sudanese public administrator who served as the 15th Prime Minister of Sudan from 20 ...

, during the

2019 Sudanese transition to democracy Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Musi ...

Early life and education

Asma was born in 1946 in

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing n ...

. She graduated in 1971 from the

University of Khartoum The University of Khartoum (U of K) ( ar, جامعة الخرطوم) is a public university located in Khartoum, Sudan. It is the largest and oldest university in Sudan. UofK was founded as Gordon Memorial College in 1902 and established in 195 ...

after studying economics and political science.

Diplomatic career

Asma was a Sudanese

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

, employed by the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, prior to the Omar al-Bashir presidency. She was one of the first three women employed by the Foreign Ministry. Asma was dismissed from the Ministry following the

1989 Sudanese coup d'état The 1989 Sudanese coup d'état was a military coup that occurred in Sudan on 30 June 1989 against the democratically elected government of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi and President Ahmed al-Mirghani. The coup was led by military officer Omar ...

that brought Omar al-Bashir to power and persecuted by the new government. According to

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...

scanned paper records of 1990, Asma was Fourth Vice-Chairman of the UNICEF Executive Board during 1990/1991. A 2010 UNICEF list of the history of the UNICEF Executive Board disputes this, claiming that Chipo Zindoga from Zimbabwe was Fourth Vice-Chairman during 1990/1991 and 1991/1992 and that Asma was never a member of the UNICEF Executive Board, up to and including 2010. In response to her persecution by the al-Bashir government, Asma chose to live in exile in

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

. While living in Morocco, Asma worked as a consultant to international organisations including

Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO, formerly ISESCO) is a specialized organization that operates under the aegis of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and is concerned with fields of education ...

(ISESCO).

2018–19 Sudanese protests

During the

2018–19 Sudanese protests 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 Sudane ...

, Asma joined the

Forces of Freedom and Change The Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC, also ''Alliance for Freedom and Change'', or AFC, and ''Declaration of Freedom and Change'', or DFC; ar, قوى إعلان الحرية والتغيير) is a wide political coalition of civilian and rebel ...

(FFC), becoming a member of the FFC's Foreign Policy team.

Minister of Foreign Affairs

Asma was added by Prime Minister

to the list of candidate ministers provided to him by the FFC, on the grounds of her role in opposing the al-Bashir government, her support of the protests calling for political change, and her diplomatic experience. Hamdok chose her ahead of the other candidates. Asma thus became Sudan's first female

in early September 2019 in the Transitional

of the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdalla, Asma Mohamed 1946 births Women government ministers of Sudan Living people Foreign ministers of Sudan People of the Sudanese Revolution People from Khartoum University of Khartoum alumni Female foreign ministers 21st-century Sudanese women politicians 21st-century Sudanese politicians 21st-century Sudanese diplomats