Sudan's new leader 'his own man'
2005-08-10 09:16
Khartoum - Lieutenant general Salva Kiir Mayardit battled the northern government through 21 years of civil war, founded the southern rebel movement at the side of the late John Garang de Mabior and planned many of the rebel army's successes in its long fight for autonomy.
Now stepping into Garang's shoes, the commander of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) is taking up a political role, challenged with making unity with the north attractive to southerners - even as he has called for secession.
Kiir, 54, is to be inaugurated on Thursday as Sudan's first vice-president and president of the autonomous government of the south.
"I know him as somebody who thinks before he takes a decision, but when he takes a decision, he sticks with it," said Jan Pronk, the United Nations representative in Sudan. "I know him as somebody who has the respect of all the commanders (in the SPLA) and who has respect also from the people in Khartoum because he is a strong military commander."
He is known for having a cool head and being able to resolve disputes.
'A good leader'
"The man is no slouch intellectually, and he is a leader," said Roger Winter, the United States special representative to Sudan. "He's his own man, a successful man, a well-liked man in the movement, he's got a broad following, he's got a different set of experiences. In spite of the fact that he's a military man, he's also got a reputation for being collegial in the way he does business. We all know that wasn't always Dr John's (Garang's) trait."
In the rebel movement that was known for various splits since it was organised in 1983, Kiir stands out as one who never challenged Garang - declaring himself a fighter, not a politician.
Kiir, a member of the Dinka tribe, southern Sudan's largest, joined the separatist Anyanya movement as a teen in the 1960s. When that rebellion ended with a peace deal in 1972, he joined the Sudanese army and rose to the rank of captain.
But in 1983, he joined with Garang in deserting from the army and forming the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army, a group that fought for autonomy for the mainly animist and Christian south from the Islamic-dominated northern government.
Shortly after Garang took office in that role, he named Kiir, his long-time deputy, as vice-president of the government of southern Sudan.
In the days since Garang's death in a helicopter crash July 30, Kiir has promised to continue the late leader's vision of peace for Sudan through implementation of the comprehensive peace agreement. Garang had always said he wanted a unified Sudan, with more autonomy for the south.
- AP