Ismāʿīl al-Azharī

Ismāʿīl al-Azharī (born October 30, 1900, Omdurman, Sudan—died August 26, 1969, Khartoum) was a Sudanese statesman, who was instrumental in achieving his country’s independence and served as prime minister in 1954–56.

Educated at Gordon Memorial College at Khartoum and at the American University of Beirut, al-Azharī became president of the Graduates’ General Congress in 1940. At first the Congress was concerned primarily with educational and social reforms, but it later opposed British administration of the Sudan and instead supported the Sudan’s union with Egypt. In 1943, following a split within the Congress, al-Azharī organized the Ashiggāʾ (“Brothers”) party; his opposition to the British proposal for self-government in the Sudan brought about his arrest in December 1948.

In 1952 he was made president of the National Unionist Party (NUP), which won an overwhelming victory in the elections of 1953. Al-Azharī became the first Sudanese prime minister in January 1954. It became clear to him that union with Egypt could be achieved only at the risk of a civil war, given the anti-union opposition in the Sudan. In May 1955 he therefore pledged to work for complete independence. Shortly after Sudan gained independence (January 1, 1956), however, his power collapsed from factional rivalries within the NUP. In 1958 a military government took power. In 1964 al-Azharī reemerged as the head of the NUP and in 1965 was appointed president of the Supreme Council (i.e., head of state). He was overthrown in a military coup on May 25, 1969.