Ismail al-Azhari (20 October 1900 – 26 August 1969) was Prime Minister of Sudan from 6 January 1954 to 5 July 1956, preceding Abdullah Khalil, and President of Sudan from 10 June 1965 to 25 May 1969, succeeding Sirr al-Khatim al-Khalifa and preceding Gaafar Nimeiry.
Biography[]
Ismail al-Azhari was born in Omdurman, Sudan on 20 October 1900, and he graduated from Gordon College to become a mathematics teacher. He joined the Graduates Congress, which campaigned for independence, in 1938, and he became its president in 1940. In 1942, he founded the more militant Ashigga Party, which campaigned for the end of British colonial rule, in association with Egypt. As the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party from 1952, he became Prime Minister in 1953, and rising nationalist feeling against hte union with Egypt persuaded him to seek independence. In 1956, he led Sudan into independence on its own, and he resigned after a split in his party that same year. He led the opposition until 1965, when he was elected to head a civilian government. Three years later, he was overthrown in a coup d'etat by Gaafar Nimeiry.