Abel Alier

Abel Alier Kwai
First Vice President of Sudan
In office 1971–1972
Preceded by	Babiker Awadalla
Succeeded by	Mohamed Al-Baghir Ahmed
Second Vice President of Sudan
In office 1972–1982
Preceded by	Khalid Hassan Abbas
Succeeded by	Joseph Lagu
President of the High Executive Council of the Southern Sudan Autonomous Region
In office 1972–1978
Personal details
Born	1933 (age 90–91) Bor District, Upper Nile, Sudan
Nationality	South Sudanese

Abel Alier Kwai (born 1933) is a South Sudanese politician who served as Vice President of Sudan between 1971 and 1982 and as President of the High Executive Council of the Southern Sudan Autonomous Region between 1972 and 1978. After Sudan gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1956, Southern Sudan was not left as an independent state. This led to a deadly war a year before the independence. A party in the war was Anyanya 1 Under Joseph Lagu. Abel Alier was a politician who managed to complete his college education among many Southern Sudanese. He is an internationally respected judge, human-rights lawyer and activist on behalf of Christians in the Sudan. Former Vice President of Sudan (1971–1982), he served as the first president of the High Executive Council of Southern Sudan. He sits on the Permanent Court of International Arbitration in The Hague and is recognized as Sudan's most prominent Christian lawyer. His latest book is Southern Sudan: Too Many Agreements Dishonoured.

Early life, 1933–1972

Alier was born in 1933 in the Bor District of the Upper Nile State in the then Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (the region where he was born is now part of South Sudan).

Addis Ababa Agreement of 1972

In 1972 a peace agreement was signed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Abel Alier became instrumental in that agreement which permitted Southern Sudan to have its own autonomous government in Juba. Abel Alier became a Vice President of Sudan when Numeiri was the president. Mr. Abel Alier is from the southern part of Dinka Bor. He is older than the late charismatic leader Dr. John Garang. Abel Alier never joined the Southern rebellion, but he has often been instrumental in helping negotiate a peaceful settlement between The North and Southern Sudan.

In 2005 he headed the committee that was appointed to investigate the death of Dr. Garang when he left Uganda for Sudan. Dr. John Garang died in a plane crash and Mr. Abiel Alier with the team did their part to investigate the possible mechanical failure that led to the crash which was regionally blamed on a bad weather and lack of clear visibility although the Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni hinted that the possibility of a foul play was something that shouldn't be dismissed or disregarded.

Sudan peace deals

In early 1990s, Abel Alier wrote a book under the title Southern Sudan: Too Many Agreements Dishonored. The agreement signed in Ethiopia in 1972 was dishonored by Numeiri in 1983 when he announced the introduction of the Islamic Law.

In early 1997 Dr. Riek Machar, signed an agreement with Khartoum. It is referred to as "The Khartoum Agreement". It was never implemented. Mr. Alier's book was about such agreements and the failure to implement them. The recent peace deal between The South and North of Sudan is known as "The Comprehensive Peace Agreement" (CPA). This is the agreement that was signed by the late leader and Vice-President Dr. John Garang before his death on the July 30, 2005. The international community including the United States, Great Britain, EU countries and The United Nations along with the African IGAD have supported this agreement and it is likely to succeed after the six years of interim government known today as the government of The National Unity.

External links

• Book
• Southern Sudan Politicians

Political offices
Preceded by Babiker Awadalla	First Vice President of Sudan 1971-1972	Succeeded by Mohamed Al-Baghir Ahmed
Preceded by Khalid Hassan Abbas	Second Vice President of Sudan 1972-1982	Succeeded by Joseph Lagu