Sadiq al-Mahdi (; 25 December 1935 – 26 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 from 1986 to 1989. He was head of the National Umma Party and

Imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...

of the Ansar, a Sufi order that pledges allegiance to Muhammad Ahmad (1844–1885), who claimed to be the

Mahdi The Mahdi () is a figure in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the Eschatology, End of Times to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a descendant of Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad, and will appear shortly before Jesu ...

, the messianic saviour of

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

Political life

Sadiq al-Mahdi was Prime Minister of Sudan on two occasions: first briefly between 1966 and 1967 and second from 1986 until his ousting on 30 June 1989.

First term as prime minister (1966–1967)

After the 1965 elections, a coalition government was formed between the National Umma Party and the National Unionist Party. Muhammad Ahmad Mahgoub of the Umma party became prime minister, and Ismail al-Azhari of the NUP became president. However, this coalition collapsed in October 1965 after the two parties failed to agree on control of the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

. In July 1966, Prime Minister Mahgoub resigned after a parliamentary vote of censure. Sadiq al-Mahdi 1987b

Mahgoub's resignation split the Umma party into two factions: the opposition faction was led by Mahgoub and endorsed by Sadiq's uncle, the Imam al-Hadi al-Mahdi, while Sadiq led the faction that was willing to work with the NUP. As Sadiq's faction was larger, he became prime minister with NUP support. He supported regional development and greater autonomy for the southern provinces. These proposals were unpopular with many educated Sudanese civilians and army officers. In May 1967, Sadiq lost the support of his coalition partners, and Mahgoub returned as prime minister in a coalition with the National Unionist Party and the People's Democratic Party. In the 1968 elections, Sadiq's faction won more seats than Mahgoub's faction, but Sadiq lost his own seat to a candidate from Mahgoub's faction.

In the opposition (1967–1986)

Jaafar Nimeiry took power in Sudan through a coup on 25 May 1969. After the attack on Aba Island in March 1970, Sadiq was imprisoned repeatedly by Nimeiry, finally going into exile in 1974. From abroad, Sadiq formed an opposition organization known as the National Front. In 1977, Sadiq and Nimeiry negotiated an agreement that freed 1,000 political prisoners, granted amnesty to Sadiq, allowed nonpartisan opposition candidates in Parliament, and planned further democratic reforms. Sadiq then returned and started forming an opposition to Nimeiry's Sudanese Socialist Union.

Second term as prime minister (1986–1989)

After the 1986 elections, Sadiq formed a coalition government comprising the Umma Party (which he led); the National Islamic Front (led by his brother-in-law, Hassan al-Turabi); the

Democratic Unionist Party The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a Unionism in Ireland, unionist, Ulster loyalism, loyalist, British nationalist and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who ...

(led by Mohammed Uthman al-Mirghani al-Khatim); and four small Southern parties. However, this coalition proved to be unstable, preventing Sadiq from delivering on his promises to end the

Second Sudanese Civil War The Second Sudanese Civil War was a conflict from 1983 to 2005 between the central Sudanese government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement, Sudan People's Liberation Army. It was largely a continuation of the First Sudanese Civil Wa ...

and fix the ongoing economic crisis. On 30 June 1989, his government was overthrown in a coup led by

Brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

Omar al-Bashir Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir (born 1 January 1944) is a Sudanese former military officer and politician who served as Head of state of Sudan, Sudan's head of state under various titles from 1989 until 2019, when he was deposed in 2019 Sudanese c ...

. The post of Prime Minister of Sudan was then abolished.

1989 coup and afterwards

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Sadiq continued to lead the Umma Party in opposition to Bashir after being ousted.''Political Parties of the World''. 6th edition, 2005, Bogdan Szajkowski (ed.), John Harper, , p. 113. He spent a period in exile, but eventually returned to Sudan in November 2000. As a former head of government, he joined the Club of Madrid. He ran unsuccessfully for the 2010 presidential elections, pledging not to hand Bashir to the

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...

to face charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes on the grounds that it would destabilize the country. In 2014, the government alleged that Sadiq had collaborated with rebels, forcing him to flee to Egypt. He eventually returned to Khartoum on 26 January 2017. In April 2019, Bashir was himself ousted by a coup after months of mass protests. Sadiq affirmed his party's support for the protests and confirmed that they would not be part of any future civilian transitional government. He also opined that Sudan should join the

and hand over Bashir to face charges. In May 2019, Sadiq announced his retirement from electoral politics. On October 24, 2020, as Sudan began to normalize diplomatic relations with Israel, Mahdi strongly condemned the move, while accusing U.S. president

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

(a chief facilitator of the deal) of being racist against Muslims and black people, and calling Israel an "apartheid state."

Personal life

Sadiq al-Mahdi was born on 25 December 1935 in Al-Abasya, Omdurman,

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

. He was the paternal grandson of Sayyid Abd al-Rahman al-Mahdi, founder of the Umma Party, Hourani, Albert. "A Disturbance of Spirits (since 1967)." In ''A History of the Arab Peoples.'' Cambridge, Massachusetts: Belnap Press of Harvard University Press, 1991. and great-grandson of Muhammad Ahmad, the Sudanese

sheikh Sheikh ( , , , , ''shuyūkh'' ) is an honorific title in the Arabic language, literally meaning "elder (administrative title), elder". It commonly designates a tribal chief or a Muslim ulama, scholar. Though this title generally refers to me ...

of the Ansar and self-proclaimed

who started the Mahdist War to end Egyptian rule in Sudan. He was also the paternal uncle of Sudanese-British actor Alexander Siddig. Sadiq al-Mahdi married twice and had ten children, including a son named Siddig after his grandfather al-Imam al-Siddiq, born in 1968, who is now a leader in National Umma Party, and a daughter, Mariam, who is the leader of the National Umma Party. On 26 November 2020, Sadiq died of complications from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

, after being admitted to a hospital in

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, for nearly a month.

Publishing career

He was the author of a variety of scholarly and political books, including ''The Southern Question'' (1964); ''Speeches in Exile'' (1976); ''Questions on Mahadism'' (1979); ''Legitimate Penalties and Their Position in the Islamic Social System'' (1987); ''Democracy in Sudan: Will Return and Triumph'' (1990); ''Challenges of the Nineties'' (1991). In addition to his political career, he is remembered for helping theorize and explicate "a new kind of religious thought which would draw out of the Qur’an and Hadith a ''shari‘a'' which was adapted to the needs of the modern world." Professor of History Albert Hourani characterizes Sadiq's intellectual contributions as "responsible but bold."

Education

* B.Sc. philosophy and economics

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

* M.Sc. politics

References

External links

*Helen Chapin Metz, ed.
"Umma Party"
''Sudan: A Country Study''. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 1991. , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Mahdi, Sadiq Al- 1935 births 2020 deaths Hashemite people Sadiq Leaders ousted by a coup National Umma Party politicians People from Omdurman Prime ministers of Sudan Defense ministers of Sudan Sudanese Sufis Islam and antisemitism Alumni of the University of Oxford Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Arab Emirates Recipients of the Order of the Republic (Sudan)