Dr. Lam Akol Ajawin, is a South Sudanese politician of Shilluk descent.[2] He is the current leader of National Democratic Movement (NDM) party.[3] He is a former high-ranking official in the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), and subsequently became the Foreign Minister of Sudan from September 2005 to October 2007, when the Khartoum government offered the SPLA several other key ministries as part of a peace agreement.

Lam Akol
Chairman of the SPLM-DC
Assumed office
June 2009
Minister of Cabinet Affairs of Sudan
In office
17 October 2007 – Unknown
PresidentOmar al-Bashir
Preceded byDeng Alor
Succeeded byDr. Luka Biong
Foreign Minister of Sudan
In office
20 January 2005 – 17 October 2007
PresidentOmar al-Bashir
Preceded byMustafa Osman Ismail
Succeeded byDeng Alor
Transport Minister of Sudan
In office
March 1998 – 2002
PresidentOmar al-Bashir
Personal details
BornJuly 15, 1950 (1950-07-15) (age 74)
Athidhwoi, Upper Nile
Political partySPLM-DC (since 2009)
Other political
affiliations
National Congress (until 2002)
Justice party (2002-2003)
SPLM (2003-2009)
Alma materImperial College London
NicknameALPHA BETA[1]
Military service
Allegiance SPLA (1983-1991)
SPLA-Nasir (1991-2002)
Battles/warsSecond Sudanese Civil War

Early life

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Akol was born on 15 July 1950 in Athidhwoi, Upper Nile. He received a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Imperial College London and taught at the University of Khartoum.[4]

SPLA

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Akol joined the SPLA in 1986 after having been a clandestine member since October 1983. In 1991 he joined Riek Machar and Gordon Kong to break from the SPLA and form the SPLA-Nasir.[5] On 5 April 1993, after they were joined by William Nyuon Bany and they joined forces with another faction under Kerubino Kwanyin Bol, the name of their faction was changed to SPLA-United.[6][7]

Akol was dismissed by Machar in February 1994 and became chairman of one faction of SPLM/A-United following unity with senior SPLA commanders who were under detention by orders of John Garang. He subsequently signed the Fashoda Peace Agreement with the government in 1997 and was appointed in March 1998 Sudan's Minister of Transportation, a post he held for four years. In 2002 Akol resigned from the ruling National Congress (NCP), and became a key member of the newly-formed opposition Justice Party. He, with most of his forces, rejoined the SPLA in October 2003.[5]

In 2005 Akol wrote a piece detailing his role as a negotiator on behalf of Garang in the initiation of Operation Lifeline Sudan.[8]

In October 2007, the SPLM withdrew from the Khartoum government; it demanded, among other things, that Akol be removed from his position as Minister of Foreign Affairs, as he was accused of being too close to the regime. The Chairman of SPLM nominated him as Minister of Cabinet Affairs which was confirmed on 17 October by President Omar al-Bashir, and appointed Deng Alor, a leading SPLM member (member of the SPLM political bureau) who had previously been the Minister of Cabinet Affairs, to replace Akol as Foreign Minister.

Bibliography

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  • Lam Akol (2001). SPLM/SPLA: Inside an African Revolution (1st ed.). Khartoum University Press. ISBN 978-99942-990-6-5.
  • Lam Akol (2003). SPLM/SPLA: the Nasir Declaration. iUniverse. ISBN 0-595-28459-0.
  • Lam Akol (2007). Southern Sudan: colonialism, resistance, and autonomy. The Red Sea Press, Inc. ISBN 978-1-56902-264-1.

References

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  1. ^ Akol, Lam (2003). SPLM/SPLA : the Nasir Declaration. New York: iUniverse, Inc. p. 14. ISBN 0595284590.
  2. ^ "Lam Akol's NDM trashes procedure of Kiir's transitional period roadmap". Radio Tamazuj. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
  3. ^ Chiengkou, Ajak Deng (14 February 2016). "Dr Lam Akol: '28 or 21 States were created for political gain but there was no study'". SBS (Your Language). Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  4. ^ "Lam Akol's NDM says there is no political will to hold elections". Radio Tamazuj. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
  5. ^ a b John Young, The South Sudan Defence Forces in the Wake of the Juba Declaration, HSBA Issue Brief No. 2 (October 2006), p. 15
  6. ^ "Pro-Government Militias:Documentation for Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army - United (SPLM/A-United)". Pro-Government Militias Database (PGMD). Extract from Christian Science Monitor, 14 April 1993. 14 April 1993. Retrieved 21 June 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  7. ^ Banks, A.S.; Day, A.J.; Muller, T.C. (2016). Political Handbook of the World 1998. Palgrave Macmillan UK. p. 875. ISBN 978-1-349-14951-3. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  8. ^ Operation Lifeline Sudan: war, peace and relief in southern Sudan
  • AKOL, Lam International Who's Who. accessed 3 September 2006.

Further reading

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Preceded by Foreign Minister of Republic of Sudan
2005–2007
Succeeded by