Jump to content

James Wani Igga

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Cheney123 (talk | contribs) at 00:52, 4 January 2021. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

James Wani Igga
File:James Wani Igga.JPG
1st Second Vice President of Sudan
Incumbent
Assumed office
21 February 2020[1]
PresidentSalva Kiir Mayardit
2nd Vice President of South Sudan
In office
25 August 2013 – 21 February 2020[1]
PresidentSalva Kiir Mayardit
Preceded byRiek Machar
Speaker of the National Legislative Assembly
In office
2011 – August 2013
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byManasseh Magok Rundial
Secretary General of the SPLM
Personal details
Born1949 (age 74–75)
Krillo,[2] Juba County, Central Equatoria, Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (now South Sudan)
NationalitySouth Sudan
Political partySPLM
Residence(s)Lobonok, Central Equatoria
Alma materCairo
Military service
AllegianceSPLA (Torit)
RankZonal Commander
CommandsYei

James Wani Igga (born 1949) is a South Sudanese politician who currently serves as the Vice President of South Sudan.[3] He was Speaker of the National Legislative Assembly from 2011 to 2013[4] and secretary general of the SPLM.[5] On 30 May 2020, he tested positive for COVID-19.[6]

Early life

Igga was born in 1949.[7] Igga is variously described to stem from the Bari[8] and Zande[9] ethnic groups and he is a Roman Catholic. He studied economics in Cairo.[8]

Civil war years

Igga joined the South Sudanese rebels in 1985, training in Cuba and Ethiopia. He rose through the SPLA ranks rapidly,[8] and by 1987 Igga had the rank of Major and commanded the Shakus Battalion.[10] The same year he served as Zonal Commander of Central Equatoria and as a member of the SPLA High Command.[11] Igga was reportedly well-respected among civilians.[12]

Igga was one of the SPLA's most senior representatives during negotiations with SPLA-Nasir. He represented Garang as the head of the SPLA-Torit delegation at peace talks in Nairobi in November 1991.[13] In 1993 Igga accompanied Garang to Nairobi for a peacemaking seminar in June 1993, and to Kampala for an IGAD-mediated dialog with the Nasir faction.[13] Igga had known Lam Akol, one of the Nasir leaders, since their time together in the Cuban training camp.[9]

As chairman of the SPLM Political Affairs Commission, Igga established the Technical Committee of Intellectuals in February 2000. This Committee was tasked with planning the civil administration of Southern Sudan.[14]

Postwar Politics

Following the 2005 signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement establishing the autonomy of Southern Sudan, Igga was in charge transitioning the SPLM from an insurgent strategic leadership to a political party. He was chosen as the speaker of Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly in 2005,[15] and he continued in that office until independence in 2011. In addition, Igga was appointed caretaker governor of Upper Nile State for the transition period.[14]

Igga read out the proclamation of independence when the Sudans divided.[8] Igga continued as the legislative speaker of the lower house from 2011 to 2013.[16]

President Salva Kiir appointed Igga as vice president on 23 August 2013 to replace Riek Machar, whom he had dismissed a month previously. He will be required to resign as speaker.[17] Igga was unanimously confirmed by the National Assembly on 26 August.[18]

On 19 August 2020, six of Igga's bodyguards were killed in a road ambush by NAS rebels in Igga's home town of Lobonok. However, Igga was not with those bodyguards at the time.[19]

References

  1. ^ a b "President Kiir appoint Machar FVP ahead of South Sudan new cabinet - Sudan Tribune: Plural news and views on Sudan". sudantribune.com.
  2. ^ "Who is James Wanni Igga?". Sudan Tribune. 25 August 2013.
  3. ^ "James Wani Igga appointed South Sudan vice-president". BBC News. 23 August 2013. Retrieved 23 August 2013.
  4. ^ "SPLM maintains popularity in the whole country-Igga". Sudan Tribune. 23 December 2009. Retrieved 23 August 2013.
  5. ^ Fisher, Jonah (20 April 2005). "Southern Sudan's frontline town". BBC News. Retrieved 23 August 2013.
  6. ^ "VP Igga tests positive for COVID-19". Radio Tamazuj. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  7. ^ "Biography of H.E. Dr. James Wani Igga (PhD)". www.presidency.gov.ss.
  8. ^ a b c d "South Sudan president names James Wani Igga as deputy: state radio". AFP. 23 August 2013. Retrieved 23 August 2013.
  9. ^ a b Sesana, Renato Kizito (2006). I am a Nuba. Nairobi: Paulines Publications Africa. ISBN 9966081798.
  10. ^ Wöndu, Steven (2011). From bush to Bush : journey to liberty in South Sudan. Nairobi, Kenya: Kenway Publications. ISBN 9966257942.
  11. ^ Fardon, Richard; Furniss, Graham (2000). African broadcast cultures : radio in transition. Oxford: Currey [u.a.] ISBN 0275970604.
  12. ^ Johnson, Douglas H. (2011). The root causes of Sudan's civil wars : peace or truce (Rev. ed.). Woodbridge, Suffolk: James Currey. ISBN 978-1847010292.
  13. ^ a b Akol, Lam (2003). SPLM/SPLA : the Nasir Declaration. New York: iUniverse, Inc. ISBN 0595284590.
  14. ^ a b Deng, Lual A. (2013). Power of creative reasoning : the ideas and vision of john garang. Bloomingdale, IN: iUnivers. ISBN 978-1475960280.
  15. ^ Badiey, Naseem (2014). The State of Post-conflict Reconstruction: Land, Urban Development and State-building in Juba, Southern Sudan. ISBN 9781847010940.
  16. ^ Johnson, Hilde F. (9 June 2016). South Sudan: The Untold Story from Independence to the Civil War. ISBN 9781786720054.
  17. ^ "Kiir appoints speaker James Wani Igga as new vice-president". Sudan Tribune. 23 August 2013. Retrieved 23 August 2013.
  18. ^ "S. Sudan lawmakers unanimously endorse Wani Igga as new VP". Sudan Tribune. 26 August 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  19. ^ "Six bodyguards of VP Igga killed in road ambush". Radio Tamazuj. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=James_Wani_Igga&oldid=998141072"