Sudanese Socialist Union

Sudanese Socialist Union
الاتحاد الاشتراكي السوداني
AbbreviationSSU
LeaderGaafar Nimeiry
Founded25 May 1971
(54 years, 300 days)
Dissolved6 April 1985
(40 years, 349 days)
IdeologyArab nationalism[1][2]
Arab socialism[1]
Pan-Arabism[3]
Nasserism[3][1]
Authoritarianism
Militarism
Anti-communism[4]
Islamism (from 1983)
Party flag

The Sudanese Socialist Union (abbr. SSU; Arabic: الاتحاد الاشتراكي السوداني, romanizedAl-Ittihad Al-Ishtiraki As-Sudaniy) was a political party in Sudan. The SSU was the country's sole legal party from 1971 until 1985, when the regime of President Gaafar Nimeiry was overthrown in a military coup.[5][6]

Today the Sudanese Socialist Democratic Union (SSDU), the successor party to the SSU, exists as a registered political party in Sudan. Until 2018, it was led by Professor Dr. Fatima Abdel Mahmoud, who was Sudan's first female minister during the presidency of Gaafar Nimeiry as well as a former member of the National Congress Party.[6] Professor Dr. Fatima Abdel Mahmoud was the first woman to contest the presidency of Sudan in the 2010 general election.[6]

Electoral history

Presidential elections

Election Candidate Votes % Result
1971 (referendum) Gaafar Nimeiry 3,839,374 98.6% Elected Y
1977 5,624,128 99.1% Elected Y
1983 99.6% Elected Y

National Assembly elections

Election Leader Seats +/– Position Result
1978 Gaafar Nimeiry
274 / 304
New New Sole legal party
1980
332 / 368
58 1st Sole legal party
1981–82
138 / 151
194 1st Sole legal party

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Gresh, Alain (August 1989). "The Free Officers and the Comrades: The Sudanese Communist Party and Nimeiri Face-to-Face, 1969-1971". International Journal of Middle East Studies. 21 (3): 393–409. doi:10.1017/S0020743800032578. JSTOR 163451.
  2. ^ "This week in history: May 20-26 – 50 years ago: Military coup brings Nimeiry to power in Sudan". wsws.org. World Socialist Web Site. 20 May 2019. Retrieved 12 August 2025. Nimeiry was a member of the Sudanese Socialist Union (SSU), an Arab nationalist party.
  3. ^ a b Darwisheh, Housam (2020). "Egyptian-Sudanese relations amidst power struggles in the Middle East and Horn of Africa". Middle East Review. 7. J-STAGE: 65–79. doi:10.24765/merev.Vol.7_E-Art02. Retrieved 9 August 2025. The Nimeiri regime identified itself as pan-Arab, modeled on Nasser's revolution in Egypt, while Egyptian support helped Nimeiri to consolidate his rule.
  4. ^ "This week in history: May 20-26 – 50 years ago: Military coup brings Nimeiry to power in Sudan". wsws.org. World Socialist Web Site. 20 May 2019. Retrieved 12 August 2025.
  5. ^ "Sudan buries ex-president who imposed Islamic rule". Daily News Egypt. 31 May 2009. Archived from the original on 6 November 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
  6. ^ a b c Shinn, David H. (2015). "Other Northern Political Groups" (PDF). In Berry, LaVerle (ed.). Sudan: a country study (5th ed.). Washington, D.C.: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. p. 261. ISBN 978-0-8444-0750-0. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 February 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2021. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)