Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Nhial Deng Nhial is a

South Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the ...

ese politician and a member of the ruling Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM). He was

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 co ...

2011 to 2013 and 2018 to 2019 after having served as the caretaker Minister of Defense since 10 July 2011. Prior to that he served as the pre-independence South Sudanese Minister of SPLA and Veteran Affairs, from 22 December 2008 until 9 July 2011.

Biography

Nhial Deng is a

Dinka The Dinka people ( din, Jiɛ̈ɛ̈ŋ) are a Nilotic ethnic group native to South Sudan with a sizable diaspora population abroad. The Dinka mostly live along the Nile, from Jonglei to Renk, in the region of Bahr el Ghazal, Upper Nile (two out ...

from Thony Community of Tonj South County,

Bahr el Ghazal Bahr el-Ghazal (Arabic بحر الغزال , also transliterated ''Bahr al-Ghazal'', ''Baḩr al-Ghazāl'', ''Bahr el-Gazel'', or versions of these without the hyphen) may refer to two distinct places, both named after ephemeral or dry rivers. Chad ...

region of

. He is the son of the famous late leader William Deng Nhial who was assassinated in 1968 before the Addis Ababa Agreement was signed between Sudan and

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

, in 1972. William Deng Nhial was as thoughtful as

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 agreeme ...

was. His son Nhial Deng Nhial did not join the movement as a member of an average Southern Sudanese family, he came from a home of a politician and was familiar with the grief of losing his father when he was young. He is a man of honor and he has committed his life to the liberation of South Sudan as a member of the

Sudan People's Liberation Movement The Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM; ar, الحركة الشعبية لتحرير السودان, ''Al-Ḥarakat ash-Shaʿbiyyat liTaḥrīr as-Sūdān'') is a political party in South Sudan. It was initially founded as the political w ...

and of the Sudan People's Liberation Army. Nhial joined the SPLA right after its inception in 1983. He was closely associated with the drafting and negotiation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between 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 ...

and

, which was signed in Naivasha,

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

, in January 2005.

Education

Nhial Deng Nhial completed his early education at

Comboni College Comboni College for Science and Technology (CCST), originally Comboni College for Computer Science, is a private college in Khartoum, Sudan, established as a technical college since 2001. It goes back to the earlier school for boys, founded by C ...

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 ...

, Sudan. He then entered 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 ...

to study law. He graduated in the early 1980s with the degree of

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Ch ...

(

LLB Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

), and earned a Master of Laws degree

LLM A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

from the

University of Dundee , mottoeng = "My soul doth magnify the Lord" , established = 1967 – gained independent university status by Royal Charter1897 – Constituent college of the University of St Andrews1881 – University College , ...

in the UK in 2008. He is fluent in both

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

. There are South Sudanese media reports, yet unconfirmed, that following the conclusion of the Naivasha Agreement, Nhial Deng Nhial was slated to become the Sudanese Foreign Minister in the ''Government of National Unity''. However following the death of Dr. John Garang in a plane crash in July 2005, Mr. Nhial refused entreaties to serve in Khartoum and opted to work in the nascent Government of

(GOSS).

Role in the government of Southern Sudan

Nhial Deng Nhial was appointed Minister of Regional Affairs in the Southern Sudanese cabinet in 2005 by President Salva Kiir. He however abruptly resigned from the cabinet less than six months later. There has been speculation as to what led to that resignation, with no clear reason being fronted. In 2004, rumors soared across Southern Sudan that

was planning to dismiss Salva Kiir as his deputy and replace him with Nhial Deng Nhial. However, at a meeting of SPLA top brass held in

Rumbek Rumbek ( ar, رمبك) is the capital of Lakes State, central South Sudan, and the former capital of the country. Location Rumbek is approximately by road northwest of Juba, the capital and largest city in the country. Its coordinates are an ...

, in December 2004, one month before the signing of the CPA, Dr. Garang made it clear that those speculations were just that; only speculations, without any basis for truth. In December 2008, Nhial Deng Nhial was appointed ''Minister of SPLA and Veterans Affairs'' by the then President of Southern Sudan, Salva Kiir, replacing General Dominic Dim Deng who died in a plane crash on 2 May 2008. He returned to the South Sudanese cabinet with the military rank of

in the SPLA. Following the

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

of South Sudan on 9 July 2011, Nhial Deng Nhial was appointed Caretaker Minister of Defense of the

Republic of South Sudan A republic () is a " state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th ...

. On 26 August 2011, President

Salva Kiir Mayardit Salva Kiir Mayardit (born 13 September 1951), also known as Salva Kiir, is a South Sudanese politician who has been the President of South Sudan since its independence on 9 July 2011. Prior to independence, he was the President of the Governmen ...

unveiled his long-awaited cabinet with Mr. Nhial Deng Nhial appointed as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Republic of South Sudan. In 2020, President Salva Kiir appointed Nhial Deng Nhial as minister of presidential affairs in the Revitalized government of national unity. He is a member of the SPLM's highest organ, the Political Bureau, and served as the leader of the SPLM delegation in Naivasha peace talks.Nhial Deng Nhial Is A High Ranking Party Official In the SPLM

Photos

Flickr.com: Photo of Lieutenant General Nhial Deng Nhial, South Sudanese Defense MinisterAnother Photo of Lt. General Nhial Deng Nhial, Also At Flickr.com

External links

Website of Government of South Sudan

References