Muhammad Gaafur al-Nimeiry

Nimeiri, Gaafar Muhammad al- (1930– ) Sudanese statesman. He led campaigns against rebels in the southern Sudan in the 1950s and joined in leftist attempts to overthrow the civilian government. Following a coup, he became Prime Minister in 1969 and Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council. President from 1971 to 1985, in 1972 he ended the civil war in the southern Sudan, granting it local autonomy. He switched from socialist economic policies to capitalism, to make the Sudan a major food producer. A devout Muslim, he proposed a new Islamic Constitution in December 1984 that made Islamic law apply to everyone. This was opposed in southern Sudan, where the majority of the population are not Muslim, and a military coup overthrew him in 1985.

Muhammad Gaafur al- Nimeiry , 1930-, Sudanese army officer and politician. Early active in the Sudanese nationalist movement, he was temporarily expelled from high school (1948) after leading a student strike against British rule. He attended military college and served in the army, where he rose to the rank of colonel. In 1969 he led a group of leftist army officers in a coup against the civilian government of Muhammad Ahmad Mahgoub. Nimeiry established himself as president and later (1972) as prime minister. In 1972, Nimeiry signed a truce with secessionist forces in S Sudan, thus ending some 17 years of civil war. Although twice reelected, his popularity waned as he supported Egyptian President Sadat's efforts for peace with Israel, opposed external alliances, and tried to impose strict Islamic law. In 1985, while abroad, he was deposed.