Bashir, Omar Hassan Ahmad al- (1944– )

Sudanese president and prime minister from 1989. An army officer, he came to power after overthrowing the democratically elected government of Sadiq al-Mahdi in 1989 and initiating what has been described as an Islamic revolution. He established a Revolutionary Command Council, and became head of state and government, and commander-in-chief. He initially abolished all existing institutions, political parties, and trade unions, with the justification of reducing regional and religious tensions. In 1993 he re-established a civilian government, though opposition parties and trade unions were still banned until 1999. Elections held in 1996 and again in 2000 consolidated his position. His period in office has been marked by ongoing civil war between government troops and non-Muslim rebels based in the south of Sudan.

After he came to power, Bashir ruthlessly crushed political opposition, and faced an attempted coup in 1990. After the ban on political parties was lifted, in December 1999, he faced a parliamentary vote on constitutional changes that would reduce his powers. He pre-empted the result by declaring a state of emergency, dissolving parliament, and sacking his ministers. The parliamentary speaker and former ally, Hassan al-Turabi, accused the president of effectively staging a coup. By the end of January 2000, Bashir had reinstated most of his ministers, but the power struggle with Turabi continued. Elections in December 2000, boycotted by opposition parties and not held at all in the predominantly non-Muslim south, re-established a parliament that supported Bashir.

After leaving school Bashir trained as a paratrooper. Before he seized power in 1989 he was serving as a brigadier general in the El Muglad area of southern Kordofan.