Nhial Deng Nhial
Commander Nhial Deng Nhial is a high-level member of the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement. Mr. Nhial joined the SPLA right after its inception in 1983. He has been a strong advocate of the movement's unity and stability to achieve its political aspirations. When the peace agreement was signed he was one of those who negotiated it and brought it to the conclusion it is known for today. The CPA or The Comprehensive Peace Agreement.
Biography
Commander Nhial Deng is a Dinka from the Bhar Elgazal region of Southern Sudan. He is the son of the famous late leader William Deng Nhial who was assissinated before the Addis Ababa Agreement was signed between The North and The South Sudan in Ethiopia. Late William Deng Nhial was as thoughtful as John Garang was. His son Nhial Deng Nhial did not join the movement as a member of an average Southern Sudanese family, he came from a home of a politician and was familiar with the grief of loosing his father when he was young. As a dinka tribeman he is a man of honor and he has committed his life to the liberation of Sudan as a member of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army.
Education
It is not clear where Mr. Nhial Deng did his education, but it is likely in Sudan. He is fluent in Arabic and that suggests that he was educated in Sudan due to the fact that most schools in Sudan used Arabic as a national language and a lingua franca. After concluding the Naivasha agreement Dr. Garang was going to appoint Nhial Deng Nhial to be the minister of foreign affairs in the government of the national unity. When Garang died as a result of the plane crash, Mr. Nhial lost the prespects of filling this portfolio. That to many critics of Salva Kiir's government was a sign that serious differences existed between John Garang and Salva Kiir prior to the tragedy that took John's life at the border of Uganda and South Sudan.
Role in the government of Southern Sudan
Mr. Nhial Deng Nhial was appointed a minister in the government of Southern Sudan by President Salva Kiir. His resignation from his position was announced a few months before the year 2005 ended. The year in which Dr. Garang lost his life on the 30th of July. There is no firm conclusion as to what reasons led to his resignation from the government of Southern Sudan. In 2004 when rumors soared across Southern Sudan that John Garang was planning to dismiss Salva Kiir the initiators of rumors added that John Garang was going to appoint Nhial Deng Nhial as his Deputy in replacement of Kiir. When the Rumbek minute took place just a few days before the year 2005 began, Dr. Garang made it clear that it was just a blatant lie. There was no such plan. Although Nhial Deng Nhial is not a minister in either the government of South Sudan and the Government of the National Unity in Khartoum, he is still a strong member of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army. He may be occupied with personal things but his commitment to serving his country as a Sudanese remains sincere.