Gaafar Mohamed el-Nimeiri
Full Name
Gaafar Mohamed el-Nimeiri
Date of Birth
January 1, 1930
Place of Birth
Date of Death
May 30, 2009
Place of Death
Education
- Graduated from the Sudan Military College in 1952
- Graduated from the U.S. Army Command College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas in 1966
Spouses Names
Not available
Children Names
Not available
Parents Names
Gaafar Mohamed el-Nimeiri, also known as Jaʿfar Muḥammad al-Numayrī, was a Sudanese military officer and politician who served as the President of Sudan from 1971 to 1985. He came to power following a military coup in 1969 that overthrew the civilian regime of Ismāʿīl al-Azharī. Nimeiri was initially the prime minister and chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council (RCC) before being elected president in a plebiscite with 98.6 percent of the vote. During his presidency, Nimeiri implemented socialist and Pan-Arabist policies and was known for his close collaboration with leaders like Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt and Muammar Gaddafi of Libya. He survived a pro-Soviet coup attempt in 1971 and shifted his policies towards capitalist agriculture with the aim of making Sudan a major food producer. Nimeiri’s regime was marked by several economic crises, attempts to promulgate measures of Islamic law (Shariʿah), and the abrogation of the 1972 agreement that had granted southern Sudan autonomy, which contributed to the resumption of the civil war in 1983. His reign ended when he was overthrown by his defense minister in a bloodless coup in 1985 while he was in the United States. After his ousting, Nimeiri lived in exile in Egypt for 14 years before returning to Sudan in 1999. He did not actively re-engage in Sudanese politics upon his return