THE PRESIDENCY

H.E President Salva Kiir Mayardit was born on September 13, 1951 in Akon, Anglo-Egyptian Sudan.  

Kiir joined Anyanya rebels fighting for Southern independence during the First Sudanese Civil War in the late 1960s. In 1972 after the peace agreement with President Jaafar Nimeiri, he joined the Sudanese army. In 1983 he became a founding member of the Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement.

In January 2005 he was a signatory in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), which ended 21 years of civil war between North and South Sudan.

Following Dr. John Garang’s unexpected death in a helicopter crash. He was nominated as Garang’s successor  on 2 August 2005 becoming the First Vice President of the Government of Sudan (GoS) and President of the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) during the transition phase (January 2005 – July 2011).

In April 2010, Sudan’s general elections confirmed Kiir’s presidency in Southern Sudan. Southern Sudan held its referendum in January 2011 resulting overwhelmingly in favor of South Sudan’s independence.

On July 9, 2011, Kiir became the President of the newly independent Republic of South Sudan.