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| Southern Sudan Autonomous Region (1972–1983) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Southern Sudan Autonomous Region |
| Conventional long name | Southern Sudan Autonomous Region |
| Common name | Southern Sudan |
| Era | Cold War |
| Status | Autonomous region |
| Status text | Autonomous region of the Republic of the Sudan |
| Year start | 1972 |
| Year end | 1983 |
| Event start | Addis Ababa Agreement |
| Date start | 1972-03-27 |
| Event end | Revocation of autonomy |
| Date end | 1983-06 |
| Capital | Juba |
| Government type | Autonomous administration |
| Leader1 | Joseph Lagu |
| Year leader1 | 1972–1978 |
| Leader2 | Abel Alier |
| Year leader2 | 1978–1982 |
| Leader3 | Gordon Muortat Mayen |
| Year leader3 | 1982–1983 |
Southern Sudan Autonomous Region (1972–1983) was an autonomous entity in the southern part of the Republic of the Sudan created by the Addis Ababa Agreement to end the First Sudanese Civil War. The region encompassed much of the territory later known as Southern Sudan (region) and provided a transitional framework for local institutions centered on Juba. Autonomy lasted until the national government revoked the arrangement in 1983, precipitating the Second Sudanese Civil War.
The origins trace to the postcolonial tensions between the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan legacy and competing elites in Khartoum and southern provinces represented by leaders such as Aggrey Jaden and John Garang. Colonial-era policies under Condominium of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan and administrative divisions like Bahr el Ghazal and Equatoria fostered regional identities challenged during the First Sudanese Civil War (1955–1972). Key actors included the Anyanya movement, commanders such as Gordon Muortat Mayen, and political negotiators linked to the Southern Sudan Liberation Movement and national figures including Gaafar Nimeiry.
The Addis Ababa talks mediated by the Ethiopian Empire under Haile Selassie and facilitated by states such as Uganda and Kenya culminated in the 1972 accord signed in Addis Ababa. Signatories comprised representatives of the Anyanya leadership and the Government of Sudan headed by Gaafar Nimeiry. The Agreement provided for statutes similar to those in federal arrangements like the British Crown Colony devolutions and created institutions inspired by models seen in Ethiopia and Nigeria. Prominent figures in implementation included Joseph Lagu, who negotiated military reintegration, and legal drafters who designed the Southern Sudan Regional Assembly and mechanisms for local administration.
Autonomy established the Southern Sudan Regional Assembly and an executive, often led by Abel Alier, with a council that incorporated former Anyanya commanders and civil servants from Equatoria, Bahr el Ghazal, and Upper Nile. The regional administration coordinated with Khartoum ministries under frameworks resembling consociationalism practices observed in other postconflict settlements, and it navigated relationships with actors such as Sudanese Communist Party figures and pan-African bodies including the Organization of African Unity. Tensions emerged among factional leaders—Joseph Lagu, Abel Alier, and Gordon Muortat Mayen—and institutions like the regional police and civil service struggled to build capacity comparable to national counterparts in Khartoum.
The region's economy relied on agriculture in Equatoria provinces, cattle herding in Bahr el Ghazal, and riverine resources along the White Nile. Development projects involved donors and neighboring capitals including Khartoum, Addis Ababa, Kampala, and international agencies linked to United Nations programs. Infrastructure targets included roads connecting Juba to towns like Torit and Malakal, and initiatives to expand markets for commodities such as sorghum, millet, and livestock. Economic challenges reflected legacies of colonial neglect, competition over land with groups connected to Nile irrigation schemes, and disputes over resource allocation with the central government in Khartoum.
Security arrangements incorporated integration of Anyanya fighters into the national armed forces per the Addis Ababa provisions, yet many former combatants retained autonomous command structures associated with leaders like Gordon Muortat Mayen. Relations with President Gaafar Nimeiry's administration oscillated between cooperation and strain, affected by regional interventions from Ethiopia and Uganda and by Cold War dynamics involving actors such as the Soviet Union and Western states. Renewed tensions over sharia law implementation, administrative boundary changes, and appointments of al-Ja'alin and northern elites escalated distrust and clandestine mobilization that presaged the later Second Sudanese Civil War (1983–2005).
The Autonomous Region encompassed diverse ethnic groups including the Dinka, Nuer, Shilluk, Madi, and Azande, with languages such as Dinka language and Nuer language and religious practices influenced by Christianity in South Sudan and indigenous beliefs. Educational expansion involved missionary networks historically linked to Church Missionary Society and institutions influenced by figures like Ezra Baya Lawiri, while cultural life featured oral traditions and customary authorities such as chiefs and elders comparable to institutions in Equatorial Africa. Urbanization in Juba fostered a nascent intelligentsia connected to regional politicians and transnational diasporas in Nairobi and Cairo.
In 1983 President Gaafar Nimeiry's government abolished the Autonomous Region and promulgated policies including the September Laws and administrative redivisions that revoked the Addis Ababa framework. The decision catalyzed insurgency led by figures such as John Garang and organizations like the Sudan People's Liberation Movement and Sudan People's Liberation Army, drawing on grievances among Dinka and Nuer constituencies. The revocation led to protracted conflict culminating in international mediation involving the Intergovernmental Authority on Development and later the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (2005), which ultimately contributed to the creation of South Sudan in 2011. Category:Politics of Sudan