Chapters › Independence to today · Sudan – Republic
Independent Sudan – First parliamentary period
1956 CE – 1958 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]
Key events
- Independence 1 January 1956
- PM Ismail al-Azhari, then Abdallah Khalil
Capitals / sites
Khartoum
Geopolitics
The National Unionist Party (successor of the pro-Egyptian Ashikka') won the November 1953 elections but steered toward full independence. Parliament declared independence on 19 Dec 1955, proclaimed on 1 Jan 1956. The Equatoria Corps mutiny of August 1955 began the southern problem (GHA VIII pp.148–150).
Culture
The two largest religious orders, the Ansar and the Khatmiyya, agreed in Dec 1953 to work for independence (GHA VIII).
Economy
The Gezira cotton scheme, run since 1950 by the government's Sudan Gezira Board, was 'the backbone of the Sudan economy' and involved about 26,000 Sudanese tenant farmers in 1958 (GHA VIII p.322).
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
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]
- Wikipedia contributors History of Sudan (1956–1969) Wikipedia link [en]