John Garang

John Garang de Mabior (born June 23 1945) is a Sudanese political leader. He was born into a poor family in Wagkulei village, near Bor in the upper Nile region of Sudan. He is a member of the Dinka ethnic group.

Garang was educated at Grinnell College where he received a BA. He was known there for his bookishness. He later took the commander's course at Fort Benning, Georgia and received advanced degrees at Iowa State University.

During the 1970s, Garang joined the Sudanese military, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Sudan People's Armed Forces (SPAF). In 1983, he was sent to crush a mutiny by 500 southern government soldiers in Bor who were resisting being rotated to posts in the north. Instead, he started a rebel movement, the Sudan People's Liberation Army which was opposed to military rule and Islamic dominance of the country, and encouraged other army garrisons to mutiny.

His group gained the backing of Libya and Ethiopia and gained strongholds throughout Southern Sudan. He refused to participate in the 1985 interim government or 1986 elections, and remains a rebel leader today. However, recent movements have been made towards peace with the Sudanese government.

External Links

Official website of the Sudan People's Liberation Army

[A State Department archive of information from before January 2001