Joseph Ukel Garang Wel (1932 – 28 July 1971) was a southern

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

ese politician in the 1960s.

Education and career

Garang attended St. Antony's Bussere (1944–1948) and Rumbek Secondary School (1949–1953). In 1957, he became the first South Sudanese male to obtain a law degree upon his graduating from the Faculty of Law at the University of Khartoum in Sudan. Shortly after graduation, he declined an offer to become a chief justice. Instead, Garang wanted to practice as an attorney and focus on his political career.

Political involvement

He was a member of the

Sudanese Communist Party The Sudanese Communist Party ( abbr. SCP; ar, الحزب الشيوعي السوداني, Al-Hizb al-Shuyui al-Sudani) is a communist party in Sudan. Founded in 1946, it was a major force in Sudanese politics in the early post-independence y ...

, and served as Minister of Southern Affairs in the

Sudanese Government Currently, the politics of Sudan takes place in the framework of a federal provisional government. Previously, a ''president'' was head of state, head of government, and commander-in-chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces in a ''de jure'' multi-par ...

. In July 1971, Garang and several others were executed after being convicted as conspirators in the short-lived coup that toppled the regime of President

Gaafar Nimeiry Jaafar Muhammad an-Nimeiry (otherwise spelled in English as Jaafar Nimeiry, Gaafar Nimeiry or Ja'far Muhammad Numayri; ar, جعفر محمد النميري; 26 April 192830 May 2009) was a Sudanese politician who served as the president of Sud ...

.Communist Leader Sentenced By Military Court
''Washington Post'', 28 July 1971

References

1971 deaths South Sudanese politicians Sudanese Communist Party politicians Government ministers of Sudan Executed Sudanese people 20th-century executions by Sudan People executed by Sudan by hanging Sudanese lawyers 1932 births 20th-century lawyers Executed communists {{Sudan-politician-stub