Salva Kiir Mayardit

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This article contains a Dinka name. According to Dinka custom, this person is
properly addressed by the name Kiir.
Salva Kiir Mayardit
Salva Kiir Mayardit.jpg
1st President of South Sudan
Incumbent
Assumed office
9 July 2011
Vice President Riek Machar (2011-13)
James Wani Igga (2013-2016)
Riek Machar (AprilJuly 2016)
Taban Deng Gai (July 2016-present)
Preceded by Position established (Omar al-Bashir as President of Sudan and Himself
President of Southern Sudan)
President of Southern Sudan
In office
30 July 2005 9 July 2011
Acting: 30 July 2005 11 August 2005
Vice President Riek Machar
Preceded by John Garang
Succeeded by Position abolished
First Vice President of Sudan
In office
11 August 2005 9 July 2011
President Omar al-Bashir
Preceded by John Garang
Succeeded by Ali Osman Taha
Vice President of Southern Sudan
In office
9 July 2005 11 August 2005
President John Garang
Preceded by Position established
Succeeded by Riek Machar
Personal details
Born September 13, 1951 (age 66)
Bahr el Ghazal, Sudan
(now South Sudan)
Political party Sudan People's Liberation Movement
Spouse(s) Mary Ayen Mayardit[1]
Salva Kiir Mayardit (born 13 September 1951) is a Dinka South Sudanese politician
who has been President of South Sudan since its independence in 2011. Prior to
independence, he was President of the Government of Southern Sudan, as well as
First Vice President of Sudan, from 2005 to 2011.
Contents [hide]
1 Sudanese civil wars
2 South Sudanese politics
3 Presidency
3.1 Domestic policy
3.1.1 Consolidation of power
3.1.2 Murder and torture of journalists
3.2 Foreign policy
3.2.1 Heglig crisis and war with Sudan
3.3 Political crisis
3.4 Controversy of alleged marriage to daughter of William Nyuon
3.5 Assassination plot
3.6 Business interests
4 Hat
5 References
6 External links
Sudanese civil wars[edit]

Salva Kiir Mayardit in military uniform

In the late 1960s, Kiir joined the Anyanya battalion in the First Sudanese Civil
War. By the time of the 1972 Addis Ababa Agreement, he was a low-ranking officer.
[3] In 1983, when Dr John Garang joined an army mutiny he had been sent to put
down, Kiir and other Southern leaders joined the rebel Sudan People's Liberation
Movement (SPLM) in the second civil war. Dr. Garang De Mabior had advanced military
knowledge and experience from both the United States and the Sudan. Kiir was his
Deputy.[4] Kiir eventually rose to head the SPLA, the SPLM's military wing when Dr.
John Garang was killed in a helicopter crash. Rumours to remove Kiir from his post
as SPLA Chief of Staff in 2004 nearly caused the organization to split.[3]
South Sudanese politics[edit]
Following the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement formally ending the war
in January 2005, Dr. John Garang was sworn in as the Vice President of the Republic
of Sudan. After the death of Dr. John Garang in a helicopter crash on 30 July 2005,
Kiir was chosen to succeed to the post of First Vice President of Sudan and
President of Southern Sudan. Before independence, Kiir was popular among the
military wing of the SPLA/M for his loyalty to the vision of the SPLA/M throughout
the liberation struggle and among those who do not trust the successive governments
that have come and gone in the Sudan.[3]
Comments by Kiir in October 2009 that the forthcoming independence referendum was a
choice between being "a second class in your own country" or "a free person in your
independent state" were expected to further strain political tensions.[5] Reports
in January 2010 that Kiir would not contest April elections for Sudanese president,
but would focus on re-election as president of Southern Sudan were interpreted to
mean that the SPLM priority was independence.[6]
Kiir was re-elected with 93% of the vote in the 2010 Sudanese election. Although
the vote on both the national and sub-national level was criticized by democratic
activists and international observers, the overwhelming margin of Kiir's re-
election was noted by some media as being "Step One" in the process of secession.
[7] Following his re-election, Omar al-Bashir reappointed Kiir as the First Vice
President of Sudan in accordance with the interim constitution.[8]
Presidency[edit]
Further information: Human rights in South Sudan

Omar al-Bashir (R), the president of Sudan, watches a ceremony celebrating the
birth of South Sudan with Salva Kiir Mayardit, the former commander of the rebels
who fought Bashir and now the president of the world's newest nation.
South Sudanese voted overwhelmingly in favour of independence from Sudan in January
2011, with 98.83% of voters reportedly preferring to split from the North.[9] On 9
July 2011, South Sudan became an independent state, with Kiir as its first
president. Kiir positioned himself as a reformer, using his inaugural address to
call for the South Sudanese people "to forgive, though we shall not forget"
perceived injustices at the hands of the northern Sudanese over the preceding
decades[10] and announce a general amnesty for South Sudanese groups that had
warred against the SPLM in the past.[11] A few weeks later, he publicly addressed
members of the military and police to warn them that rape, torture, and other human
rights violations carried out by armed personnel would be considered criminal acts
and prosecuted aggressively by the Ministry of Justice.[12] His presidency was
characterized as a period of reconstruction, albeit one marred by with internal and
foreign disputes. Among these were the Heglig Crisis, which caused a border war
with Sudan, and an internal political crisis in which attempts were made to
overthrow him.
Domestic policy[edit]
On 18 June 2013, Kiir issued an order lifting the immunity of two ministers in the
national government pending investigations into an alleged corruption case in which
they appeared to be implicated. He also issued an order suspending Cabinet Affairs
Minister Deng Alor Kuol and Finance Minister Kosti Manibe Ngai from their duties
during the entire duration of the probe. In July 2013, Kiir sacked his entire
cabinet, including his vice president, Riek Machar, ostensibly to reduce the size
of government. However, Machar said that it was a step towards dictatorship and
that he would challenge Kiir for the presidency.[13] He also dismissed Taban Deng
Gai as Governor of Unity State.
Kiir told Radio Netherlands Worldwide that homosexuality is not in the "character"
of Southern Sudanese people. "It is not even something that anybody can talk about
here in southern Sudan in particular. It is not there and if anybody wants to
import or to export it to Sudan, it will not get the support and it will always be
condemned by everybody," he said. He then went on the refer to homosexuality as a
"mental disease" and a "bastion of Western immorality" [14]
In December 2011, 6,000 Lou Nuer armed child soldiers attacked Murle communities.
According to investigations carried out by the UN, 800 people from both ethnic
groups were killed between December 2011 and February 2012, while women and
children were abducted and property was looted and destroyed.[15] Unbeknownst to
large numbers of or the entire child soldier population, Kiir planned and had
decided to agree to warlike stipends from the Obama administration beginning in
2012, regardless of an American law prohibiting aid to nations utilizing child
soldiers created and passed in 2008.[16]
A lack of accountability and justice pertaining to the investigation, arrest and
prosecution of the individuals who carried out the violence against civilians of
both the Nuer and Murle ethnic groups is widely believed to have contributed
massively to, if not categorically, the mass murders, as well as the continued
perpetration of the ethnic violence.[15] Kiir established a figurehead
"Investigation Committee" with an ostentatious mandate to investigate those
responsible for the mass murders and murders, but as of January 2013 no finances
had been allocated to the "Investigation Committee" or any of its members sworn in
to commence the investigation and bring those to justice.[15]
Throughout the Jonglei disarmament "Operation Restore Peace" which began in March
2012 and continued throughout the year, soldiers were ordered to and assumed the
responsibility of extrajudicial killings, severe beatings, binding people with
rope, and torture to extract "information" regarding the whereabouts of weapons.
Consolidation of power[edit]
After rumors about a planned coup surfaced in Juba in late 2012, Kiir began
reorganizing the senior leadership of his government, party and military on an
unprecedented scale. In January 2013, he replaced the inspector general of the
national police service with a lieutenant from the army, and dismissed six deputy
chiefs of staff and 29 major generals in the army. In February 2013 Kiir retired an
additional 117 army generals but this was viewed as troublesome in regards to a
power grab by others. Kiir had also suggested that his rivals were trying to revive
the rifts that had provoked infighting in the 1990s.
Murder and torture of journalists[edit]
Moi Peter Julius, who was a political reporter for a South Sudanese newspaper The
Corporate, was found murdered late on the night of August 19, 2015 in a residential
area of Juba after being shot twice from behind. His murder was committed three
days after Kiir publicly and officially threatened journalists, stating that
freedom of the press does not mean that you work against your country. If anybody
does not know that this country will kill people, we will demonstrate on them.[17]
Earlier in 2015, five journalists by the names of Musa Mohamed (the director of the
state-run radio station Raja FM), Adam Juma (reporter and presenter for Raja FM),
Dalia Marko and Randa George (reporters for Raja FM), and Boutros Martin (a
cameraman for the Western Bahr el Ghazal of South Sudan Television) had been
murdered while traveling as part of a convoy, along with six other people. Tom
Rhodes of the Committee to Protect Journalists stated after the murders that "The
murder of five journalists is a devastating attack on South Sudan's already
beleaguered press corps," and that "We urge Western Bahr el Ghazal authorities to
do their utmost to identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice, and to
ensure journalists are allowed to carry out their duties safely."[18] At present,
none of the parties responsible for ordering the murders or perpetrators of the
crimes have been arrested, charged, or convicted.
Foreign policy[edit]

Kiir with United States President George W. Bush

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry meets with President Kiir, May 26, 2013
In mid-October 2011, Kiir announced South Sudan had applied for accession to the
East African Community. He declared the EAC to be "at the centre of our hearts" due
to its members' support of the South during the Sudanese civil wars.[19]
On 20 December 2011, Kiir visited Israel to thank it for its support during the
First Sudanese Civil War in 19561972,[20] and met with Israeli president Shimon
Peres to discuss establishing an embassy in Jerusalem, which would make South Sudan
the only country to have one in that city.[21]
After the outbreak of the South Sudanese civil war, Salva Kiir delivered a speech
in January 2014 lashing out at the United Nations and so-called humanitarian
organizations, accusing them of supporting Riek Machar to try to overthrow him. He
accused the UN of sheltering his enemies on their bases adding, There is a problem
with the international community, and it is something that people will have to
thrash out with them.[22]
In March 2014, Kiir's government organized a rally accusing the United Nations of
colluding with anti-government forces. Protesters carried signs accusing the UN of
arming anti-government forces.[23]
Relations between Kiir's government and some erstwhile supporters deteriorated
since the start of the civil war. He disclosed in an op-ed published in his name in
the Washington Times in October 2015 that unnamed "international partners in peace"
had threatened his government with sanctions, the withdrawal of aid support, and
referrals to the International Criminal Court.[24]
Heglig crisis and war with Sudan[edit]
On 26 March 2012, the South Sudanese army attacked the Heglig oilfield, which is
known also to the Dinka of the Unity state as Panthou a Dinka word for Heglig in
Arabic, located between the border of the Sudanese state of South Kordofan and the
South Sudanese state of Unity, triggering the Heglig Crisis. On 27 September, Kiir
met Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and signed eight agreements in Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia, which led the way to resume important oil exports and create a 10-
kilometre (6 mi) demilitarised zone along their border. The agreements allow for
the return of 56,000,000 litres (350,000 barrels) of South Sudanese oil to the
world market. In addition, the agreements include an understanding of the
parameters to follow in regards to demarcating their border, an economic
cooperation agreement and a deal to protect each other's citizens. Certain issues
remain unsolved and future talks are scheduled to resolve them.
On 25 November 2012, South Sudan launched a formal complaint to the United Nations
Security Council (UNSC) against Sudan in the wake of aerial bombings carried out by
the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) in parts of South Sudan's northern Bahr el Ghazal
state, killing at least eight people and injuring an equal number. South Sudan
treated the attack as a gross violation of the cooperation agreement the two
country's leaders signed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 27 September.[25]
Political crisis[edit]
Tensions rose between Kiir and his former vice president Riek Machar in December
2013 in the lead-up to a meeting of the National Liberation Council (NLC) of the
ruling SPLM party. After two days of NLC meetings, on the night of 15 December 2013
shooting erupted within Salva Kiir's Presidential Guards. The next day, Kiir
denounced Machar and other senior SPLM officials for staging a failed coup against
his government, a claim later denied by Machar and others. These events marked the
start of the South Sudanese Civil War.[26]
Controversy of alleged marriage to daughter of William Nyuon[edit]
In a politically charged social issue, it has been claimed that Kiir secretly
married the daughter of former comrade, the late William Nyuon Bany, an ethic Nuer
and former leader of the SPLA. Allegedly, a traditional Dinka ceremony was
conducted by his brothers. This led to strife between Kiir's eldest daughter and
Aluel William Nyuon Bany.[27] Kiir has not publicly commented on the allegation.
According to media reports in Kenya, "Kiir's in-laws" have requested privacy.[28]
Assassination plot[edit]
According to a Saudi Arabian diplomatic cable released by Wikileaks in June 2015,
the Saudi Arabian embassy in Khartoum had previously alerted the Saudi government
of an assassination plot against President Kiir by members of the Egyptian and
Sudanese intelligence agencies.[29]
Business interests[edit]
Kiir is reported to be the owner or part-owner of ABMC Thai-South Sudan
Construction Company Limited. According to a report by Radio Tamazuj, however,
Kiir's shares are not held directly but may be concealed in the name of a close
associate. Ties between Kiir and the company were denied by Kiir's spokesman Ateny
Wek. The company was awarded at least $161 million in government roads contracts.
[30] The president's wife previously held shares in Yanyyom Mineral Water and
Beverage Factory located in Juba. The factory took its name from Lake Yanyyom,
located near the president's hometown Akon in Warrap State. Another owner of the
factory was Garang Deng Aguer, a business magnate and former Governor of Northern
Bahr al Ghazal State.[31]
Hat[edit]
In 2006, when visiting the White House, Kiir received a black stetson as a gift
from the then-U.S. President George W. Bush. He reportedly liked it so much that he
purchased several. He now seldom makes public appearances without his hat.[32]
References[edit]
Jump up ^ Sudan Tribune, Kenyan police arrest S. Sudan presidents son over
drunkenness
Jump up ^ Sheikholeslami, Ali (January 1, 2011). "Who Is Salva Kiir?".
Euronews.com.
^ Jump up to: a b c "Profile: Salva Kiir". BBC News. 2 August 2005. Retrieved 26
January 2010.
Jump up ^ Johnson, Douglas H. (2003). The Root Causes of Sudan's Civil Wars.
Indiana University Press. p. 66. ISBN 0-253-21584-6.
Jump up ^ "S. Sudan president makes first call for independence". Reuters. 31
October 2009. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
Jump up ^ "Sudan would accept separation, says President Bashir". BBC News. 19
January 2010. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
Jump up ^ Gettleman, Jeffrey (April 26, 2010). "Bashir Wins Election as Sudan Edges
Toward Split". The New York Times.
Jump up ^ "Salva Kiir and Ali Osman appointed deputies of Sudan's President". Sudan
Tribune. 29 May 2010.
Jump up ^ "Over 99 Percent in Southern Sudan Vote for Secession". FOX News. 30
January 2011. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
Jump up ^ "South Sudan: Salva Kiir Calls for Forgiveness As South Gains
Independence". 9 July 2011. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
Jump up ^ "Salva Kiir takes oath, grants amnesty to rebels". Sudan Tribune. 9 July
2011. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
Jump up ^ Wadu, Waakhe Simon (1 August 2011). "Salva Kiir Warns Armed South Sudan
Forces Over Human Rights Abuse". Oye! Times. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
Jump up ^ "South Sudan gripped by power struggle - Africa". Al Jazeera English.
Retrieved 2014-01-21.
Jump up ^ "South Sudan President Condemns Homosexuality". African Activist News.
^ Jump up to: a b c "World Report 2013: South Sudan". Human Rights Watch. World
Report 2013. Human Rights Watch. 2013-01-10. Retrieved 2016-07-16.
Jump up ^ Turse, Nick (June 9, 2016). "Hillary Clinton's State Department Gave
South Sudan's Military a Pass for Its Child Soldiers". The Intercept. New Nation,
Long War. First Look Media. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
Jump up ^ Raskauskite, Zivile (2015-08-26). "South Sudan reporter killed in
apparent targeted attack - Global Journalist". Global Journalist. Retrieved 2016-
07-23.
Jump up ^ "Five journalists killed when gunmen ambush convoy in South Sudan -
Committee to Protect Journalists". cpj.org. Committee to Protect Journalists.
January 27, 2015. Retrieved 2016-07-23.
Jump up ^ "South Sudan readies for EAC membership which was later rejected".
Busiweek.com. 2011-10-17. Retrieved 2011-12-06.
Jump up ^ "Al Arabiya, 12/20/2011". Alarabiya.net. Retrieved 2014-01-21.
Jump up ^ Daniel Pipes. "South Sudan, Israel's New Ally". Daniel Pipes. Retrieved
2014-01-21.
Jump up ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCJ9YWChiB0, retrieved 2015-10-15 Missing
or empty |title= (help)
Jump up ^ Rwakaringi, Mugume Davis (2014-03-14). "South Sudan Peace Protesters Rail
Against UN". Voice of America. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
Jump up ^ Kiir Mayardit, Salva (2015-10-11). "South Sudan: the world's youngest
nation strives to build democracy". Washington Times. Retrieved 2015-10-16.
Jump up ^ 25 November 2012 (2012-11-25). "South Sudan: Juba to File Complaint to UN
Security Council Over Khartoum Aggression". allAfrica.com. Retrieved 2014-01-21.
Jump up ^ "It wasn't a coup: Salva Kiir shot himself in the foot", South Sudan
nation, retrieved 2015-11-12
Jump up ^ The Nairobian. "Battles rock Salva Kiir family in Nairobi". Standard
Media Group. Retrieved 2014-04-16.
Jump up ^ The Nairobian. ""Our family life is private" Kiirs in-law says". Standard
Media. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
Jump up ^ Sudan Tribune. "Egyptian intelligence coordinated with Khartoum to
assassinate South Sudan's Kiir: cable". Sudan Tribune. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
Jump up ^ Radio Tamazuj (2015-06-16). "Special investigation: President Kiir linked
to multi-million dollar roads contracts". Retrieved 2015-10-15.
Jump up ^ Radio Tamazuj (2015-06-24). "Special investigation: Kiir did business
with ex-NCP governor". Retrieved 2015-10-15.
Jump up ^ Foreign Policy. "Where did Kiir get his ten-gallon hat?". Foreign Policy.
Retrieved 2016-07-11.
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Salva Kiir Mayardit.
Salva Kiir Speaks at the International Peace Institute, 22 September 2010
Kiir's Speech on First Visit to Washington, at Woodrow Wilson International Center
for Scholars, 4 November 2005
Address by President Salva Kiir to the 66th session of the United Nations General
Assembly, 23 September 2011 (video; summary and transcript)
Profile: Salva Kiir - South Sudan's Commander-in-chief - image vs reality, 13
October 2014
Political offices
New office Vice President of Southern Sudan
2005 Succeeded by
Riek Machar
Preceded by
John Garang President of Southern Sudan
20052011 Position abolished
First Vice President of Sudan
20052011 Succeeded by
Ali Osman Taha
New office President of South Sudan
2011present Incumbent
[show] v t e
Presidents of South Sudan
Categories: 1951 birthsDinka peopleLiving peoplePeople from Bahr el
GhazalPresidents of South SudanRebelsSPLM/SPLA Political-Military High CommandSouth
Sudanese Roman CatholicsSudan People's Liberation Movement politiciansVice
Presidents of Sudan
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