Ahmed al-Mirghani
Encyclopedia
Ahmad Ali Al-Mirghani was the President of Sudan from May 6, 1986 to June 30, 1989, when the democratically elected government was toppled by a military coup led by the current President Omar al-Bashir
.
and the great-great grandson of Al Sayyid
Mohammed Uthman al-Mirghani al-Khatim
. He graduated with a First class degree from the University of London
and returned to Sudan. He progressed through a professional career until the elections of 1986 when he was elected as the President of the country. He played a major role in convincing the late King Faisal of Saudi Arabia to travel and meet president Naser of Egypt in Sudan in the famous 1967 Khartoum summit.
.
, Egypt
. He returned to Sudan shortly before his death and lobbied for peace on the War in Darfur
.
He actively worked on the Darfur file and was chosen as the head of the Darfur Circle in the Democratic Unionist Party. His final trip abroad was to Libya where he held a number of meetings with the rebel groups and the Libyan leadership regarding the solutions to the Western Sudan problem.
to mourn the former president. His body was flown to Khartoum on November 5, and his funeral was held there on the same day. The funeral procession travelled from the airport in the south of the capital Khartoum through the city streets to the north of the capital, where he was buried.
Omar al-Bashir
Lieutenant General Omar Hassan Ahmad Al-Bashir is the current President of Sudan and the head of the National Congress Party. He came to power in 1989 when he, as a brigadier in the Sudanese army, led a group of officers in a bloodless military coup that ousted the government of Prime Minister...
.
Early life
Al-Mirghani was the scion of the venerated Mirghani family of SudanSudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
and the great-great grandson of Al Sayyid
Sayyid
Sayyid is an honorific title, it denotes males accepted as descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husain ibn Ali, sons of the prophet's daughter Fatima Zahra and his son-in-law Ali ibn Abi Talib.Daughters of sayyids are given the titles Sayyida,...
Mohammed Uthman al-Mirghani al-Khatim
Mohammed Uthman al-Mirghani al-Khatim
Mohammed Uthman al-Mirghani known as Al-Khatim was the founder of the Khatmiyya sufi tariqa that has a following in Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, Somalia and Ethiopia....
. He graduated with a First class degree from the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
and returned to Sudan. He progressed through a professional career until the elections of 1986 when he was elected as the President of the country. He played a major role in convincing the late King Faisal of Saudi Arabia to travel and meet president Naser of Egypt in Sudan in the famous 1967 Khartoum summit.
Presidency
Al-Mirghani was elected President of Sudan in 1986 during the country's last democratic elections. He was unseated in a 1989 coup led by the current president Omar al-BashirOmar al-Bashir
Lieutenant General Omar Hassan Ahmad Al-Bashir is the current President of Sudan and the head of the National Congress Party. He came to power in 1989 when he, as a brigadier in the Sudanese army, led a group of officers in a bloodless military coup that ousted the government of Prime Minister...
.
Later years
Following the coup Al-Mirghani lived in AlexandriaAlexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. He returned to Sudan shortly before his death and lobbied for peace on the War in Darfur
War in Darfur
The Darfur Conflict was a guerrilla conflict or civil war centered on the Darfur region of Sudan. It began in February 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army and Justice and Equality Movement groups in Darfur took up arms, accusing the Sudanese government of oppressing non-Arab Sudanese in...
.
He actively worked on the Darfur file and was chosen as the head of the Darfur Circle in the Democratic Unionist Party. His final trip abroad was to Libya where he held a number of meetings with the rebel groups and the Libyan leadership regarding the solutions to the Western Sudan problem.
Death
Al-Mirghani died in Egypt on November 2, 2008 at the age of 67. Several Sudanese politicians including the president travelled to the Mirghani base in KhartoumKhartoum
Khartoum is the capital and largest city of Sudan and of Khartoum State. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile flowing north from Lake Victoria, and the Blue Nile flowing west from Ethiopia. The location where the two Niles meet is known as "al-Mogran"...
to mourn the former president. His body was flown to Khartoum on November 5, and his funeral was held there on the same day. The funeral procession travelled from the airport in the south of the capital Khartoum through the city streets to the north of the capital, where he was buried.