Sudan Self-Government Statute

After the defeat of the Mahdist State in 1899, Sudan came under a de jure condominium of the British Empire, and the Kingdom of Egypt, in which Britain had de facto control over Sudan.{{Cite book |last=Gleichen |first=Edward |url=https://archive.org/details/angloegyptiansud01gleiuoft |title=The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan: a compendium prepared by officers of the Sudan government. Edited by Count Gleichen |date=1905 |publisher=London Printed for H.M. Stationery office by Harrison |others=Robarts - University of Toronto}}

In the 1910s up to the 1924 White Flag League Revolt, nationalism emerged in Sudan and Sudanese graduates of Gordon Memorial College formed the Graduates' Club on 18 May 1918, which wanted to restrict the Governor-General of Sudan's power and to obtain Sudanese participation in the council's deliberations.{{Cite journal |last=Gaffer |first=Nowar |date=2012 |title=THE GRADUATES` NATIONAL MOVEMENT IN SUDAN, 1918-1944 |url=https://ijie.um.edu.my/index.php/SEJARAH/article/view/9240/6546 |journal=SEJARAH: Journal of the Department of History |language=en |volume=20 |issue=20 |doi=10.22452/sejarah.vol20no20.6 |issn=2756-8253}} However, any change in government required a change in the condominium agreement. Neither Britain nor Egypt would agree to a modification.{{Cite web |title=About this Collection {{!}} Country Studies {{!}} Digital Collections {{!}} Library of Congress |url=https://www.loc.gov/collections/country-studies/about-this-collection/ |access-date=2025-05-25 |website=Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA}}{{Creative Commons text attribution notice|cc=zero|from this source=yes}} After the 1924 revolt was crushed, Sudanese educated elites shifted their focus to cultural and intellectual activities.

In the 1930s, nationalism reemerged in Sudan, culminating in the formation of the Graduates' General Congress (GGC) on 12 February 1938.{{Cite book |last=Anders |first=Breidlid |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8YYhBQAAQBAJ&dq=%22Graduates'+General+Congress%22+-wikipedia&pg=PA163 |title=A Concise History of South Sudan: New and Revised Edition |date=2014-10-20 |publisher=Fountain Publishers |isbn=978-9970-25-337-1 |language=en}} The GGC worked to mobilise public support for Sudanese independence, organising strikes and protests to pressure the British government to grant greater autonomy to Sudan.{{Cite journal |last=Holt |first=P. M. |date=1956 |title=Sudanese Nationalism and Self-Determination Part I |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4322822 |journal=Middle East Journal |volume=10 |issue=3 |pages=239–247 |issn=0026-3141 |jstor=4322822}} On 3 April 1942, amid global shifts like the publication of the Atlantic Charter, the Congress presented twelve demands to the government, including a call for Sudan's right to self-determination after the World War II and end to the "Closed-door" ordinances for southern Sudan.{{Cite book |last=Deng |first=Francis M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_g2TSlsi_G4C&dq=%22Graduates'+General+Congress%22+-wikipedia&pg=PA117 |title=War of Visions: Conflict of Identities in the Sudan |date=2011-10-01 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-0-8157-2369-1 |language=en}} These demands were rejected, leading to division in the GGC, influenced by the Khatmiyya and Ansar.{{Cite journal |last=Holt |first=P. M. |date=1956 |title=Sudanese Nationalism and Self-Determination Part I |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4322822 |journal=Middle East Journal |volume=10 |issue=3 |pages=239–247 |issn=0026-3141 |jstor=4322822}}

Nationalists and religious leaders were divided on the issue of whether Sudan should apply for independence or union with Egypt. The Mahdi's son, Abd al-Rahman al-Mahdi, emerged as a spokesman for independence in opposition to Ali al Mirghani, the Khatmiyyah leader, who favoured union with Egypt. Coalitions supported by these leaders formed rival wings of the nationalist movement. Later, radical nationalists and the Khatmiyyah created the Ashigga, renamed the National Unionist Party (NUP), to advance the cause of Sudanese-Egyptian unification. The moderates favoured Sudanese independence in cooperation with Britain and together with the Ansar established the Umma Party.

In 1948, the pro-Egyptian NUP boycotted the parliamentary election. As a result, pro-independence Umma Party groups dominated the Legislative Assembly. In December 1950, a member of the Umma tabled a resolution asking the Governor-General to demand that Egypt and Britain grant Sudan independence at once. The British strongly opposed the measure.{{Cite book |last=Warburg |first=Gabriel |author-link=Gabriel Warburg |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T7aht1_gXSgC&pg=PA38 |title=Islam, Nationalism and Communism in a Traditional Society: The Case of Sudan |date=1978 |publisher=Psychology Press |isbn=978-0-7146-3080-9 |page=73 |language=en}}

In 1952, leaders of the Umma-dominated legislature negotiated the Self-Determination Agreement with Britain. The draft agreement was send to Egypt in may 1952,{{Cite book |last=Parkinson |first=Charles |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Bills_of_Rights_and_Decolonization/bgl8tcAEl2oC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Sudan+Self-Government+Statute%22+-wikipedia&pg=PA70&printsec=frontcover |title=Bills of Rights and Decolonization: The Emergence of Domestic Human Rights Instruments in Britain's Overseas Territories |date=2007-11-22 |publisher=OUP Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-923193-5 |pages=70 |language=en}} but Cairo, which demanded recognition of Egyptian sovereignty over Sudan, repudiated the condominium agreement in protest and declared its reigning monarch, Faruk, King of Egypt and the Sudan. Later that year, on n 23 July 1952, Farouk was toppled by the Free Officers Movement,{{Cite book |last=Gordon |first=Joel |title=Nasser's Blessed Movement: Egypt's Free Officers and the July revolution |date=1992 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-506935-8 |series=Studies in Middle Eastern history |location=New York}} who supported Sudan independence.{{Cite journal |last=Lahav |first=Pnina |date=July 2015 |title=The Suez Crisis of 1956 and its Aftermath: A Comparative Study of Constitutions, Use of Force, Diplomacy and International Relations |url=https://scholarship.law.bu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1199&context=faculty_scholarship |journal=Boston University Law Review |volume=95 |issue=4 |pages=15–50}}

The statue was debated in the Parliament of the United Kingdom on 22 October 1952,{{Cite web |title=Sudan (Self-Government Statute) - Hansard - UK Parliament |url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/1952-10-22/debates/0b3300bc-1076-479b-a97f-59e952507ffc/Sudan(Self-GovernmentStatute) |access-date=2025-05-25 |website=hansard.parliament.uk |language=en}}{{Cite book |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Biennial_Conference/2w8tAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22Sudan+Self-Government+Statute%22+-wikipedia&dq=%22Sudan+Self-Government+Statute%22+-wikipedia&printsec=frontcover |title=Biennial Conference: School of Oriental and African Studies, 14-16 September 1998 : ASAUK 1998 : Comparisons and Transitions : Papers |date=1998 |publisher=African Studies Association of the UK |language=en}} and on 20 January 1953 after Egypt approved the agreement.{{Cite web |title=SUDAN (SELF-GOVERNMENT STATUTE) (Hansard, 20 January 1953) |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1953/jan/20/sudan-self-government-statute |access-date=2025-05-25 |website=api.parliament.uk}} During this time, Abdul Rahman al-Mahdi, Imam of the Ansar, became Chief Minister of Sudan on 22 October 1952.

The Self-Government Statute was signed on 12 February 1953, in Cairo,{{Cite book |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Quarterly_Journal_of_Administration/azo9arIVlkoC?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22Sudan+Self-Government+Statute%22+-wikipedia&dq=%22Sudan+Self-Government+Statute%22+-wikipedia&printsec=frontcover |title=The Quarterly Journal of Administration |date=April 1972 |publisher=The Institute |language=en}} and enacted on 21 March 1953.{{Rp|page=71}}{{Cite book |last=Baddour |first=Abd el-Fattah Ibrahim el-Sayed |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Sudanese_Egyptian_Relations/KE7RAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22Sudan+Self-Government+Statute%22+-wikipedia&dq=%22Sudan+Self-Government+Statute%22+-wikipedia&printsec=frontcover |title=Sudanese-Egyptian Relations: A Chronological and Analytical Study |date=1960 |publisher=M. Nijhoff |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Whitaker |first=Joseph |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/An_Almanack_for_the_Year_of_Our_Lord/eps3AAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22Sudan+Self-Government+Statute%22+-wikipedia&dq=%22Sudan+Self-Government+Statute%22+-wikipedia&printsec=frontcover |title=An Almanack for the Year of Our Lord ... |date=1954 |publisher=J. Whitaker |language=en}} It allowed for a three-year transition period from condominium rule to self-government.{{Cite book |last=Charles |first=Parkinson |url=https://academic.oup.com/book/3887/chapter/145469802 |title=3 Sudan |date=2007-11-22 |publisher=Oxford University Press |volume=1 |language=en |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199231935.003.0003}}{{Cite web |date=2025-04-21 |title=History of Sudan - The Sudan under the Anglo-Egyptian Condominium {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/history-of-Sudan/The-Sudan-under-the-Anglo-Egyptian-Condominium |access-date=2025-05-25 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}} It established a {{III|Council of Ministers (Sudan)|lt=Council of Ministers|ar|مجلس الوزراء السوداني}} and a parliament, paving the way for a more autonomous Sudan.{{Cite web |date=1962-10-16 |title=Sudan: Transmitted by a note verbale dated 16 October 1962 of the Permanent Mission of Sudan to the United Nations |url=https://legal.un.org/legislativeseries/pdfs/chapters/book14/book14_sudan.pdf |website=United Nations}} The Statute also included a bill of rights, a first for a territory under British dominion.{{Cite book |last=Noha Ibrahim |first=Abdelgabar |url=https://ediss.sub.uni-hamburg.de/bitstream/ediss/5514/1/Dissertation.pdf |title=Constitutional Reform as a Means of Democratic Transformation in Sudan |date=July 2014 |publisher=Universität Hamburg |pages=104}} The new Sudanese government had responsibility in all areas except military and foreign affairs, which remained in the British Governor-General of Sudan's hands.{{Cite web |last=El-Affendi |first=Abdelwahab |title=Sudan’s states of exception |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2021/11/2/sudans-states-of-exception |access-date=2025-05-25 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Okoth |first=Assa |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/A_History_of_Africa_African_nationalism/suMvEWjK-OcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Sudan+Self-Government+Statute%22+-wikipedia&pg=PA213&printsec=frontcover |title=A History of Africa: African nationalism and the de-colonisation process |date=2006 |publisher=East African Publishers |isbn=978-9966-25-358-3 |language=en}}

Prior to the implementation of self-government, a parliamentary elections were held between 2 and 25 November 1953,Dieter Nohlen, Michael Krennerich & Bernhard Thibaut (1999) Elections in Africa: A data handbook, p851 {{ISBN|0-19-829645-2}} {{Cite book |last=Poggo |first=S. |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_First_Sudanese_Civil_War/wP2ADAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Sudan+Self-Government+Statute%22+-wikipedia&pg=PA34&printsec=frontcover |title=The First Sudanese Civil War: Africans, Arabs, and Israelis in the Southern Sudan, 1955-1972 |date=2008-12-22 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-0-230-61798-8 |page=34 |language=en}} which was won by the NUP (51 of the 97 seats).Cowen, L & Laakso, L (2002) Multi-Party Elections in Africa, p254 Sudan then started the process of Sudanisation of the civil service.{{Cite web |title=Sudan - Hansard - UK Parliament |url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1954-05-10/debates/e5ae49db-1468-40ba-bb7f-ff55cce288a3/Sudan |access-date=2025-05-25 |website=hansard.parliament.uk |language=en}} The legislators then enacted a constitution that provided for a prime minister and council of ministers responsible to a bicameral parliament, and Ismail al-Azhari, leader of the NUP, became Chief Minister of Sudan on 6 January 1954.{{Cite web |date=2012-02-27 |title=Embassy of Sudan in Canada / Visas Services |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227173110/http://www.sudanembassy.ca/primeMinisters.htm |access-date=2025-05-25 |website=web.archive.org}}

As mandated by the statute, in 1954, the Governor-General of Sudan formed a Commission of the Sudan consisting of a Chairman from Pakistan, a representative of the Egyptian government and another for the British, along with two Sudanese members. The two Sudanese members were initially appointed by agreement between the British and Egyptian Governments, with their appointments subject to approval by the Sudanese Parliament. However, one of the two appointed Sudanese members from the pro-independence Umma Party was not approved by the NUP-dominated parliament in April 1954, continuing the long rivalry between the Khatmiyya and Ansar religious sects.{{Cite web |title=Governor-General's Commission (Composition) - Hansard - UK Parliament |url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/1954-05-10/debates/cb0cbe62-2ceb-43f5-a506-f3c12ae014ed/Governor-GeneralSCommission(Composition) |access-date=2025-05-25 |website=hansard.parliament.uk |language=en}}

{{Main|Republic of Sudan (1956–1969)}}

File:Sudan_independence_2.png and opposition leader Muhammad Ahmad Mahgoub on 1 January 1956.]]

On 19 December 1955, the Sudanese parliament, under al-Azhari's leadership, unanimously adopted a declaration of independence effective on 1 January. Both Egypt and Britain recognised Sudan sovereignty.{{Rp|page=71}} The Governor-General of Sudan commission was adopted into Supreme Commission. The statue was modified into the Transitional Constitution of Sudan; however, political factions had yet to reach a consensus on a permanent constitutional framework.{{Cite web |title=Contested Constitutions - Constitutional development in Sudan 1953-2005 |url=https://www.cmi.no/publications/5265-contested-constitutions-constitutional-development |access-date=2024-11-17 |website=CMI - Chr. Michelsen Institute |language=en}}

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Category:Constitutions of Sudan

Category:Political history of Sudan