Salva Kiir Mayardit
Encyclopedia
Salva Kiir Mayardit is the first President of the Republic of South Sudan
.
in the First Sudanese Civil War
. By the time of the 1972 Addis Ababa Agreement, he was a low-ranking officer. In 1983, when John Garang
joined an army mutiny
he had been sent to put down, Kiir and other Southern leaders joined the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) in the second civil war
. Garang had little military field experience and relied upon the more experienced Anyanya veterans, including Kiir, to actually carry out the ground war. Kiir eventually rose to head the SPLA, the SPLM's military wing. An attempt to remove Kiir from his post as SPLA chief of staff in 2004 nearly caused the organization to split.
formally ending the war in January 2005, which he had helped start, he was appointed Vice President of Southern Sudan. Perhaps significantly, former Southern Sudan president John Garang
like Kiir is of the Dinka people, though of a different clan. After the death of Garang in a helicopter crash of 30 July 2005, Kiir was chosen to succeed to the post of First Vice President of Sudan and President of Southern Sudan. Kiir is popular among the military wing of the SPLM for his battlefield victories and among the populace for his unambiguous pro-secession stance.
Comments by Kiir in October 2009 that the forthcoming independence referendum was a choice between being "a second class in your own country" or "a free person in your independent state" were expected to further strain political tensions. Reports in January 2010 that Kiir would not contest April elections for Sudanese president, but would focus on re-election as president of Southern Sudan were interpreted to mean that the SPLM priority is independence.
Kiir was re-elected with 93% of the vote in the 2010 Sudanese election. Although the vote on both the national and sub-national level was criticized by democratic activists and international observers, the overwhelming margin of Kiir's re-election was noted by some media as being "Step One" in the process of secession. Following his re-election, Omar al-Bashir
reappointed Kiir as the First Vice President of Sudan in accordance with the interim constitution.
in January 2011, with 98.83% of voters reportedly preferring to split from the North. On 9 July 2011, South Sudan
became an independent state, with Kiir as its first president. Kiir positioned himself as a reformer, using his inaugural address to call for the South Sudanese people "to forgive, though we shall not forget" perceived injustices at the hands of the northern Sudanese over the preceding decades and announce a general amnesty for South Sudanese groups that had warred against the SPLM in the past. A few weeks later, he publicly addressed members of the military and police to warn them that rape
, torture
, and other human rights
violations carried out by armed personnel would be considered criminal acts and prosecuted aggressively by the Ministry of Justice.
Kiir faced the first real crisis in his presidency of the Republic of South Sudan in early August 2011, when clashes over cattle
erupted between Lou Nuer and Murle people in Jonglei
and Warrap states, leaving over 600 dead. Kiir ordered the army to deploy to the unrest-hit areas to quell the violence, and the South Sudanese government claimed the next day that fighting had ended.
In mid-October 2011, Kiir announced South Sudan had applied for accession to the East African Community
. He declared the EAC to be "at the centre of our hearts" due to its members' support of the South during the Sudanese civil wars.
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South Sudan
South Sudan , officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country located in the Sahel region of northeastern Africa. It is also part of the North Africa UN sub-region. Its current capital is Juba, which is also its largest city; the capital city is planned to be moved to the more...
.
Sudanese civil wars
In the late 1960s, Kiir joined the AnyanyaAnyanya
The Anyanya were a southern Sudanese separatist rebel army formed during the First Sudanese Civil War . A separate movement that rose during the Second Sudanese Civil War were, in turn, called Anyanya II...
in the First Sudanese Civil War
First Sudanese Civil War
The First Sudanese Civil War was a conflict from 1955 to 1972 between the northern part of Sudan and the southern Sudan region that demanded representation and more regional autonomy...
. By the time of the 1972 Addis Ababa Agreement, he was a low-ranking officer. In 1983, when John Garang
John Garang
John Garang de Mabior was a Sudanese politician and rebel leader. From 1983 to 2005, he led the Sudan People's Liberation Army during the Second Sudanese Civil War, and following a peace agreement he briefly served as First Vice President of Sudan from January 2005 until he died in a July 2005...
joined an army mutiny
Mutiny
Mutiny is a conspiracy among members of a group of similarly situated individuals to openly oppose, change or overthrow an authority to which they are subject...
he had been sent to put down, Kiir and other Southern leaders joined the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) in the second civil war
Second Sudanese Civil War
The Second Sudanese Civil War started in 1983, although it was largely a continuation of the First Sudanese Civil War of 1955 to 1972. Although it originated in southern Sudan, the civil war spread to the Nuba mountains and Blue Nile by the end of the 1980s....
. Garang had little military field experience and relied upon the more experienced Anyanya veterans, including Kiir, to actually carry out the ground war. Kiir eventually rose to head the SPLA, the SPLM's military wing. An attempt to remove Kiir from his post as SPLA chief of staff in 2004 nearly caused the organization to split.
Southern Sudanese politics
Following the signing of the Comprehensive Peace AgreementComprehensive Peace Agreement
The Comprehensive Peace Agreement , also known as the Naivasha Agreement, was a set of agreements culminating in January 2005 that were signed between the Sudan People's Liberation Movement and the Government of Sudan...
formally ending the war in January 2005, which he had helped start, he was appointed Vice President of Southern Sudan. Perhaps significantly, former Southern Sudan president John Garang
John Garang
John Garang de Mabior was a Sudanese politician and rebel leader. From 1983 to 2005, he led the Sudan People's Liberation Army during the Second Sudanese Civil War, and following a peace agreement he briefly served as First Vice President of Sudan from January 2005 until he died in a July 2005...
like Kiir is of the Dinka people, though of a different clan. After the death of Garang in a helicopter crash of 30 July 2005, Kiir was chosen to succeed to the post of First Vice President of Sudan and President of Southern Sudan. Kiir is popular among the military wing of the SPLM for his battlefield victories and among the populace for his unambiguous pro-secession stance.
Comments by Kiir in October 2009 that the forthcoming independence referendum was a choice between being "a second class in your own country" or "a free person in your independent state" were expected to further strain political tensions. Reports in January 2010 that Kiir would not contest April elections for Sudanese president, but would focus on re-election as president of Southern Sudan were interpreted to mean that the SPLM priority is independence.
Kiir was re-elected with 93% of the vote in the 2010 Sudanese election. Although the vote on both the national and sub-national level was criticized by democratic activists and international observers, the overwhelming margin of Kiir's re-election was noted by some media as being "Step One" in the process of secession. Following his re-election, Omar al-Bashir
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...
reappointed Kiir as the First Vice President of Sudan in accordance with the interim constitution.
President of South Sudan
Southern Sudanese voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence from 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...
in January 2011, with 98.83% of voters reportedly preferring to split from the North. On 9 July 2011, South Sudan
South Sudan
South Sudan , officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country located in the Sahel region of northeastern Africa. It is also part of the North Africa UN sub-region. Its current capital is Juba, which is also its largest city; the capital city is planned to be moved to the more...
became an independent state, with Kiir as its first president. Kiir positioned himself as a reformer, using his inaugural address to call for the South Sudanese people "to forgive, though we shall not forget" perceived injustices at the hands of the northern Sudanese over the preceding decades and announce a general amnesty for South Sudanese groups that had warred against the SPLM in the past. A few weeks later, he publicly addressed members of the military and police to warn them that rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
, torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
, and other human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
violations carried out by armed personnel would be considered criminal acts and prosecuted aggressively by the Ministry of Justice.
Kiir faced the first real crisis in his presidency of the Republic of South Sudan in early August 2011, when clashes over cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
erupted between Lou Nuer and Murle people in Jonglei
Jonglei
Jonglei is one of the 10 states of South Sudan. Jonglei is the largest state in the Republic of South Sudan, with approximately 122,479 km2, as well as the most populous according to the controversial 2008 census conducted during present-day South Sudan's second period of autonomy. Bor is the...
and Warrap states, leaving over 600 dead. Kiir ordered the army to deploy to the unrest-hit areas to quell the violence, and the South Sudanese government claimed the next day that fighting had ended.
In mid-October 2011, Kiir announced South Sudan had applied for accession to the East African Community
East African Community
The East African Community is an intergovernmental organisation comprising the five east African countries Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. Pierre Nkurunziza, the President of the Republic of Burundi, is the current Chairman of the East African Community. The EAC was originally...
. He declared the EAC to be "at the centre of our hearts" due to its members' support of the South during the Sudanese civil wars.
External links
- Salva Kiir Speaks at the International Peace Institute, 22 September 2010
- Kiir's Speech on First Visit to Washington, at Woodrow Wilson International Center for ScholarsWoodrow Wilson International Center for ScholarsThe Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars , located in Washington, D.C., is a United States Presidential Memorial that was established as part of the Smithsonian Institution by an act of Congress in 1968...
, 4 November 2005 - Address by President Salva Kiir to the 66th session of the United Nations General AssemblyUnited Nations General AssemblyFor two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:* General Assembly members* General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...
, 23 September 2011 (video; summary and transcript)
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