The Minister of Defence of the

Republic of 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 ...

is the

government minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, � ...

responsible for the Ministry of Defence and the

Sudanese Armed Forces The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF; ar, القوات المسلحة السودانية, Al-Quwwat al-Musallaha as-Sudaniyah) are the military forces of the Republic of the Sudan. In 2011, IISS estimated the regular forces' numbers at personnel, whil ...

. After independence, Prime Minister

Abdallah Khalil Sayed Abdallah Khalil ( ar, عبد الله خليل; ) was a prominent Sudanese politician who served as the second Prime Minister of Sudan. Early life Khalil was born in Omdurman and was of Kenzi Nubian origin. In a place called balana in betwe ...

, secretary of the

Umma Party The National Umma Party ( ar, حزب الأمة القومي , translit=Hizb al-Umma al-qawmmy; en, Nation Party) is an Islamic political party in Sudan. It was formerly led by Sadiq al-Mahdi, who served twice as Prime Minister of Sudan, and ...

, served as Minister of Defence. The

President 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 (and three multi-member sovereignty councils) have served as ...

was responsible for appointing the Minister of Defence. After the overthrow of General

Ibrahim Abboud General Ibrahim Abboud ( ar, إبراهيم عبود; 26 October 1900, in Suakin – 8 September 1983, in Khartoum) was a Sudanese political figure who served as the head of state of Sudan between 1958 and 1964 and as president of Sudan in 1964 ...

's regime in October 1964, Lieutenant General El Khawad Mohmamed was appointed as a member of the ruling

Supreme Council of the Armed Forces The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF; ar, المجلس الأعلى للقوات المسلحة, ', also Higher Council of the Armed Forces) is a statutory body of between 20 and 25 senior Egyptian military officers and is headed by Fi ...

and commander-in-chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces. Then-Colonel

Jaafar Nimeiri 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 Su ...

came to power in the

1969 Sudanese coup d'état The 1969 Sudanese coup d'état was a successful coup, led by Colonel Gaafar Nimeiry, against the government of President Ismail al-Azhari. The coup signaled the end of Sudan's second democratic era, and saw the beginning of Nimeiry's 16 year r ...

. Khalid Hassan Abbas was appointed as Minister of Defense on 29 October 1969 following a cabinet reshuffle implemented to strengthen the army's control over the Sudanese government. Abbas was an anti- Mahdist and non-

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

. As Defense Minister he, alongside Babiker, would push President Nimeiri to adopt a more aggressive response to the rising threat to the government posed by the Ansar movement, resulting in the brutal crackdown seen on

Aba Island Aba Island is an island on the White Nile to the south of Khartoum, Sudan. It is the original home of the Mahdi in Sudan and the spiritual base of the Umma Party. History Aba Island was the birthplace of the Mahdiyya, first declared on J ...

in 1970. Abbas served as Defense Minister until 16 April 1972, at which point Nimeiri took over the role. U.S. personnel met Defence Minister General Abdul Majid Hamid Khalil (known in the Sudan as Abdul Majid) in 1979. Two days after the signing of the peace agreement between

Ahmed al-Mirghani Ahmad Ali Al-Mirghani ( ar, أحمد الميرغني; 16 August 1942 – 2 November 2008) was the 6th President of Sudan from May 6, 1986, to June 30, 1989, when the democratically elected government was overthrown by a military coup led by ...

and

John Garang John Garang de Mabior (June 23, 1945 – July 30, 2005) was a Sudanese politician and revolutionary leader. From 1983 to 2005, he led the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) after the Second Sudanese Civil War, the comprehensive peace agreement ...

on 16 November 1988, a

Sudanese Air Force The Sudanese Air Force ( ar, القوّات الجوّيّة السودانيّة, Al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya As-Sudaniya) is the air force operated by the Republic of the Sudan. As such it is part of the Sudanese Armed Forces. History The Sudanese A ...

Lockheed C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally design ...

carrying Abdul Majid from Wau to Khartoum, together with the Army Commander-in-Chief, General Fathi Ahmed Ali, was hit by a missile, knocking out one of its engines. In January 1982, President Nimeiri again assumed the office himself after retiring Abdul Majid, who had been simultaneously First Vice President, Minister of Defence, commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and secretary-general of the single ruling

Sudanese Socialist Union The Sudanese Socialist Union ( abbr. SSU; ar, الاتحاد الاشتراكي السوداني ''Al-Ittihad Al-Ishtiraki Al-Sudaniy'') was a political party in Sudan. The SSU was the country's sole legal party from 1971 until 1985, when the ...

party. Nimeiri had served himself as Minister of Defence for long stretches in 1972-73 (promoted himself General in 1973), 1975–76, and 1978-79 after retiring other ministers. From 1976-78, the Minister of Defence has usually held the rank of

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

, when

Bashir Mohamed Ali Bashir or Basheer or the francicized Bachir or Bechir ( ar, بشير) is a male given name. Derived from Arabic, it means "the one who brings good news". It is also a surname. Bashir may refer to: Mononym * Bashir I, Lebanese emir of the Shiha ...

held the position. Since the accession of the

Sovereignty Council of Sudan The eleven-member Sovereignty Council of Sudan ( ar, مجلس السيادة السوداني) was the collective head of state of Sudan from 20 August 2019, when it was created by the August 2019 Draft Constitutional Declaration, until 25 Octob ...

, the effective commander-in-chief of the armed forces is Lieutenant General

Abdel Fattah al-Burhan Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman al-Burhan ( ar, عبد الفتاح عبد الرحمن البرهان, Abd al-FattāḥʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Burhān; born 11 July 1960) is a Sudanese politician and Sudanese Army general who is the ''de facto'' head ...

, former head of the Transitional Military Council. Ministers of Defence have included: {, class="wikitable" ! No. !! Name !! Term !! Party/Notes , - , 1 , ,

Ismail Al-Azhari Ismail al-Azhari (October 20, 1900 – August 26, 1969) ( ar, إسماعيل الأزهري) was a Sudanese nationalist and political figure. He served as the first Prime Minister of Sudan between 1954 and 1956, and as President of Sudan from 19 ...

, , 17 November 1955 - 2 February 1956 , , Civilian , - , 2 , ,

, , 3 February 1956 to 17 November 1958 , , Civilian , - , 3 , , Brigadier

, , 18 November 1958 - 21 October 1964 , , Abboud Govt; Later promoted , - , 4 , , Secret seal of the Caliph , , to 7 June 1965, ,

Sirr Al-Khatim Al-Khalifa Sirr Al-Khatim Al-Khalifa Al-Hassan ( ar, سر الختم الخليفة الحسن, 1 January 1919 – 18 February 2006) was a Sudanese politician, ambassador and an elite educator, who served as the 5th Prime Minister of Sudan. He was famous ...

?; Prime Minister of the first and second transitional government of October (1964-1965) , - , 5 , , Mohamed Ahmed Mahgoub , , 8 June 1965 - 5 May 1966 , , , - , 6 , , Amin Al-Tom Sati, , 5 May 1966 - 27 July 1966 , , , - , 7 , , Abdullah Abdul Rahman abdalramn nogd Allah , , 28/7/1966 to 12/14/1966 , , , - , 8 , , Ahmed Abdel Rahman abdalrhman al-Mahdi , , 15 December 1966 - 15 July 1967 , , al-Mahdi Govt , - , 9 , , Adam Musa Madbou musa madibo , , 16/5/1967 - 26 May 1968 , , , - , 10 , , Mohamed Ahmed Al-Mahjoub , , 27/5/1968 to 5/25/1969 , , , - , 11 , , Colonel

, , For the period 25/5/1969 - 19 June 1969 , , , - , 12 , , Brigadier Omar Hajj Moussa , , for the period 20/6/1969 - 10/28/1969 , , , - , 13 , , Major General Khalid Hassan Abbas , , for the period 10/29/1969 - 16/4/1972 , , , - , 14 , , Major General Jaafar Nimeiri , , for the period 17/4/1972 - 7/10/1973 , , , - , 15 , , Lieutenant General Awad Khallafalla, , for the period 8/10/1972 - 25/10/1975 , , Air Force officer, "pilot corner team". As part of the U.S. diplomatic cables leak, it was disclosed that the United States Embassy Khartoum had dispatched a message saying that as of November 7, 1974, General Awad Khallafalla had been dismissed as Minister of Defence and Commander-in-Chief of the

, retired, and been appointed as an advisor on military and aviation affairs in the office of the presidency. , - , 16 , , Jaafar Nimeiri , , 10/26/1975 - 9/8/1976 , , , - , 17 , , General

, , 10/8/1976 - 1 February 1979 , , , - , 18 , , General Jaafar Nimeiri, , 2 February 1979 - 28 April 1979 , , , - , 19 , , General Abdul Majid Hamid Khalil , , 5/29/1979 - 25/1/1983 , , Formerly Commander Port Sudan Area. Had been simultaneously First Vice President, Minister of Defence, commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and secretary-general of the single ruling

party before he was retired by Nimeiri. , - , 20 , , Field Marshal Jaafar Nimeiri , , January 26, 1982 - March 3, 1985 , , , - , 21 , , Lieutenant General

Abdel Rahman Swar al-Dahab Abdel Rahman Suwar al-Dahab (otherwise known as Suwar al-Dahab or al-Dahab; 1934 – 18 October 2018) ( ar, عبد الرحمن سوار الذهب) was the President of Sudan from 6 April 1985, to 6 May 1986. His full name has also been listed ...

, , March 3, 1985 - 6/4/1985. , - , 22 , , Field Marshal

, , April 6, 1985 - April 22, 1985 , , As Chair of the Transitional Military Council , - , 23 , , Major General A.H. / Othman Abdullah Muhammad , , April 22, 1985 - May 3, 1986 , , Both de Waal 2015 and Salmon 2007 named the Minister of Defence in July 1985 as Major General Burma Fadlallah Nasir. , - , 24 , ,

Sadiq al-Mahdi Sadiq al-Mahdi ( ar, الصادق المهدي, aṣ-Ṣādiq al-Mahdī; 25 December 193526 November 2020), also known as Sadiq as-Siddiq, was a Sudanese political and religious figure who was Prime Minister of Sudan from 1966 to 1967 and again f ...

, , May 4, 1986 - 14/5/1988, , Civilian. , - , 25 , , Abdul Majid Hamed Khalil , , 15/5/1988 to 25/4/1989 , , , - , 26 , , Major General Othman Mubarak Rahma , , 4/26/1989-30/6/1989 , - , 27 , , Brigadier, later Staff Lieutenant General Omar Hassan Ahmed Al-Bashir , , 1 July 1989 - 19 October 1993, , Previously Airborne Forces; Commander, 8th Infantry Brigade, as a Brigadier, 1987 - 30 June 1989. , - , 28 , , Staff General Hassan Abdel-Rahman Ali hasaan , , October 10, 1993 to March 8, 1998, , , - , 29 , , Staff Lieutenant General Ibrahim Suleiman Hassan , , March 3, 1998 - circa June 1999 , ,

Africa Confidential ''Africa Confidential'' is a fortnightly newsletter covering politics and economics in Africa. It was established in 1960 and is owned by the British company Asempa Limited. Founded by a group of six individuals under the banner of Miramoor Publ ...

reported his dismissal as Armed Forces Chief of Staff on 24 October 1997

Defence minister the next year; later a member of parliamen

Hassan served for thiry-six years in the SAF. "A native of Darfur, Hassan returned to serve as Governor of

North Darfur North Darfur State ( ar, ولاية شمال دارفور Wilāyat Šamāl Dārfūr; ''Shamal Darfor'') is one of the wilayat or states of Sudan. It is one of the five states composing the Darfur region. It has an area of 296,420 km2 and a ...

from 2001 to 2003. Although nationally well-respected, Hassan fell from the upper echelon of the National Congress Party after opposing military intervention in Darfur. mong other issuesHassan ordered the arrest of Janjaweed leader Musa Hilal in 2002. poor health

t the time the cable was written T, or t, is the twentieth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''tee'' (pronounced ), plural ''tees''. It is der ...

Hassan is inactive within the NCP, and returned to Khartoum in November 2007 after ..months of surgery and recuperation in Cairo." , - , 30 , , Staff Lieutenant General

Abdul Rahman Sirr al Khatim Abdul (also transliterated as Abdal, Abdel, Abdil, Abdol, Abdool, or Abdoul; ar, عبد ال, ) is the most frequent transliteration of the combination of the Arabic word '' Abd'' (, meaning "Servant") and the definite prefix '' al / el'' (, mea ...

, , July 7, 1999 - July 7, 2000 , , Appointment reported March 8, 1999: "Bashir appointed chief spokesman of the army, Lt. Gen Abdul Rahman Sir al-Khatim, as the new minister," SUNA reported. Sudanese newspapers quoted al-Khatim as saying five Sudanese army soldiers were killed and nine wounded in a clash on April 11, 1999 with rebels near

Kassala Kassala ( ar, كسلا) is the capital of the state of Kassala in eastern Sudan. Its 2008 population was recorded to be 419,030. Built on the banks of the Gash River, it is a market town and is famous for its fruit gardens. Many of its inhabita ...

(AFP 15 /Apr/99) Later Ambassador to Ethiopia (?

, - , 31 , , Major General

Bakri Hassan Saleh Bakri Hassan Saleh ( ar, بكري حسن صالح) is a Sudanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Sudan from March 2017 until September 2018 (the first in almost 28 years) and as First Vice President of Sudan from December 2013 until Fe ...

, , July 11, 2000 to 21/9/2004 , , Also reported by WP as "11 July 2000-21 September 2005." , - , 32, , Major General Ahmed Khaled , , 21/9/2004 to 21/9/2004 , , , - , 33 , , Lieutenant General Abdel Rahim Mohammed Hussein , , September 22, 2005 to 2/3/2006 , , Air Force, Engineer Branch. , - , 34 , , General

Abdel Rahim Mohammed Hussein Abdel Rahim Mohammed Hussein ( ar, عبد الرحيم محمد حسين; born 1949) is a Sudanese politician and the former Governor of Khartoum State. Hussein served as the longstanding Minister of National Defense of The Republic of Sudan. Hus ...

, , 2/3/2006 - June 6, 2015 , , Promoted to full general. , - , 35 , ,

Mustafa Osman Obeid Salim Lieutenant General Mustafa Osman Obeid Salim ( ar, مصطفى عثمان عبيد سالم) is a Sudanese Army officer who currently serves as Chief of Staff of the Sudanese Armed Forces. Salim took command of the Armed Forces from Col. Gen. Ism ...

, , June 6, 2015 - August 2015 , , Obeid also served temporarily as Minister of National Defence after taking over from

from 6 June until August 2015, when he was replaced with

Ahmed Awad Ibn Auf Ahmed Awad Ibn Auf (born ; ar, أحمد عوض بن عوف ) is a Sudanese politician and Sudanese Army General who served as the ''de facto'' head of state for one day from 11 April 2019 to 12 April 2019 after taking part in the 2019 Sudane ...

. , - , 36 , ,

, , 23 August 2015 - 14 April 2019 , - , 37 , , Unknown , , April - September 2019 , , , - , 38 , , General Jamal al-Din Omar , , September 2019 - c. March 25, 2020 , , Died of a heart attack while taking part in negotiations in Juba, South Sudan.{{cite web, title=Sudan defence minister dies of heart attack in South Sudan , url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/03/sudan-defence-minister-dies-heart-attack-south-sudan-200325075734237.html, date=25 March 2020 , publisher=

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...

, - , 39 , , Maj. Gen. Yassin Ibrahim Yassin Abdel-Hadi , , June 2, 2020 - onwards , , Retired general

https://www.darfur24.com/en/2020/06/02/sudan-appoints-new-defense-minister/]

References

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20140417163651/http://mod.gov.sd/section-blog/25-%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%AF%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%AD%D8%A9.html - list of Ministers of Defence from the Sudanese official archived website Government ministers of Sudan, Defence *