- Nhial Deng Nhial
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Nhial Deng Nhial Born 1 January 1952 [citation needed]
South SudanResidence Juba, South Sudan Nationality South Sudanese Ethnicity Dinka Citizenship South Sudanese Education Bachelor of Laws (LLB)
University of Khartoum, Khartum, Sudan;
Master of Laws (LLM)
University of Dundee, UKOccupation Lawyer & Politician Years active 1980 — present Known for Politics Home town Wau, South Sudan Title Minister of Foreign Affairs Republic of South Sudan Religion Christian Lieutenant General Nhial Deng Nhial is a South Sudanese politician and leading member of the ruling Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM). He was appointed the new Minister of Foreign Affairs of the newly independent Republic of South Sudan on August 26th, 2011 after having served as the caretaker Minister of Defense since July 10th, 2011.[1] Prior to that he served as the South Sudanese Minister of SPLA and Veteral Affairs, from December 22nd, 2008 until July 9th, 2011.[2]
Contents
Biography
Nhial Deng is a Dinka from the Bahr el Ghazal region of Southern Sudan. He is the son of the famous late leader William Deng Nhial who was assissinated before the Addis Ababa Agreement was signed between Sudan and South Sudan in Ethiopia, in 1972. William Deng Nhial was as thoughtful as John Garang 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. As a Dinka tribesman 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 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 and South Sudan, which was signed in Naivasha, Kenya, in January 2005.
Education
Nhial Deng Nhial completed his early education at Comboni College in Khartoum, Sudan. He then entered the University of Khartoum to study law. He graduated in the early 1980s with the degree of Bachelor of Laws (LLB), and earned a Master of Laws(LLM) degree from the University of Dundee in the UK in 2008. He is fluent in both English and Arabic. 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 Southern Sudan (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 that six month later. There has been speculation as to what led to that resignation, with no clear reason being fronted.
In 2004 when rumors soared across Southern Sudan that John Garang 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, 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 the 2nd May 2008. He returned to the South Sudanese cabinet with the military rank of Lieutenant General in the SPLA.[3] Following the independence of South Sudan on 9 July 2011, Nhial Deng Nhial was appointed Caretaker Minister of Defense of the Republic of South Sudan. On August 26th, 2011, President Salva Kiir Mayardit 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.
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. [4]
Photos
- Flickr.com: Photo of Lieutenant General Nhial Deng Nhial, South Sudanese Defense Minister
- Another Photo of Lt. General Nhial Deng Nhial, Also At Flickr.com
External links
See also
- SPLM
- SPLA
- University of Khartoum
- Cabinet of South Sudan
References
Categories:- Living people
- People from Bahr el Ghazal
- Dinka people
- University of Khartoum alumni
- Sudan People's Liberation Movement politicians
- South Sudanese military personnel
- Government ministers of South Sudan
- South Sudanese politicians
- 1952 births
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