1900 - ?
Ruler of the Sudan, 1958 - 1964.
Born in a village on the Red Sea and educated in Khartoum at Gordon Memorial College (now Khartoum University) and the military college, Ibrahim Abbud joined the Egyptian army in 1918 and later served with the Sudan Defense Force. During World War II he became the highest-ranking Sudanese officer. In 1956, he became commander-in-chief of the armed forces, when the Sudan became an independent republic.
After he engineered the coup d'état with the support of senior politicians in 1958, he headed the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which ruled the country for six years. Abbud suspended the constitution, closed parliament, and banned political parties and trade unions. He negotiated an accord with Egypt to reapportion the use of the Nile waters, but his hard-line policy toward the south, which included the forced Arabization of schools and government offices and the placement of restrictions on Christian institutions, led to an escalation in fighting in that region, an overall deterioration in the economy, and protests in northern cities. He was overthrown in 1964 during mass demonstrations, led by students, professionals, and trade unions, which sought a return to democracy and the undertaking of diplomatic efforts to resolve the civil war in the south. Abbud was not forced into exile or even arrested; he was allowed to resign and to receive his pension.
Bibliography
Lesch, Ann M. "Military Disengagement from Politics: The Sudan." In Military Disengagement from Politics, edited by Constantine P. Danopoulos. London and New York: Routledge, 1988.
— ANN M. LESCH
