Chapters › Independence to today · Sudan – Republic
Abboud military regime
1958 CE – 1964 CE Arabic under review
Approximate area of control ≈ approximate
- OpenHistoricalMap contributors (2026) Sudan / South Sudan admin_level=2 relations (2801037, 2926748, 2926753, 2801039, 2801038; earlier 2690845, 2831546, 2926749, 2961763, 2961762, 2803203) link [high]
- OpenHistoricalMap contributors (2026) Sudan / South Sudan admin_level=2 relations (2801037, 2926748, 2926753, 2801039, 2801038; earlier 2690845, 2831546, 2926749, 2961763, 2961762, 2803203) link [high]
Key events
- Coup Nov 1958
- October Revolution 1964 ends rule
Capitals / sites
Khartoum
Geopolitics
Ended in 1964 by a civilian-led popular uprising, which GHA VIII calls exceptional in Africa ('political succession after a popular uprising').
Culture
In the south the regime 'suppressed expressions of religious and cultural differences and bolstered attempts to arabize society'; in Feb 1964 Abboud ordered 'the mass expulsion of foreign missionaries from the south' (LOC1991_ABBUD, 1991). A UNESCO MGIEP case study says mission schools were brought under government control, Arabic was progressively introduced as the medium of instruction, and missionaries were restricted until all were expelled in 1964 (UNESCO_MGIEP_SSD, n.d.) [VERIFY]. Seri-Hersch traces these Arabisation policies back to the late colonial years (Arabic declared the vehicular language in 1949; Arabic-medium government schools in the south by 1954) and says the post-1964 parliamentary governments did not significantly change them (SERIHERSCH2020, 2020, §§9–10) [VERIFY]. In the north, the Ansar and Khatmiyya lost influence under military rule, and Abd al-Rahman al-Mahdi died in early 1959 (LOC1991_ABBUD).
Economy
The Gezira scheme, 'the backbone of the Sudan economy', had about 26,000 tenant farmers in 1958, the year of the coup (GHA VIII p.322). No source read covers economic policy under Abboud.
Regional power
Research in progress We have not yet read a source for this section. It will be added once one is checked; nothing is filled in by guesswork.
Open data flags
- regional_power: no actors scored
- Pass 13 text: Arabic is a working translation; needs native review
- Arabic is a WORKING TRANSLATION needing native review
- VERIFY: UNESCO_MGIEP_SSD, SERIHERSCH2020 (search excerpts only)
- No source found naming a 1962 Missionary Societies Act; not stated
Sources
- A.A. Mazrui (ed.) General History of Africa VIII: Africa since 1935 – Sudan passages ('North Africa and the Horn', pp.148–150; economy and political-succession passages) UNESCO link [en]
- P.M. Holt & M.W. Daly (2011) A History of the Sudan: From the Coming of Islam to the Present Day Routledge (Pearson/Longman) link [en]
- U.S. Library of Congress, Federal Research Division (H.C. Metz ed.; history T. Ofcansky, economy R.O. Collins) Sudan: A Country Study (research completed June 1991) – 'The Abbud Military Government, 1958-64' link [en]
- Iris Seri-Hersch Arabization and Islamization in the Making of the Sudanese 'Postcolonial' State (1946-1964), Cahiers d'études africaines 240, pp.779–804 link [en]
- UNESCO MGIEP Education Systems in Post-conflict contexts: Case Study of South Sudan link [en]
- Wikipedia contributors Ibrahim Abboud Wikipedia link [en]
- Wikipedia contributors October 1964 Revolution Wikipedia link [en]