POLITICIANS from South Sudan

Top 2

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary South Sudanese Politicians of all time. This list of famous South Sudanese Politicians is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. Salva Kiir Mayardit (b. 1951)

With an HPI of 64.60, Salva Kiir Mayardit is the most famous South Sudanese Politician.  His biography has been translated into 66 different languages on wikipedia.

Salva Kiir Mayardit (born 13 September 1951), also known as Salva Kiir, is a South Sudanese politician who has been the President of South Sudan since its independence on 9 July 2011. Prior to independence, he was the President of the Government of Southern Sudan, as well as First Vice President of Sudan, from 2005 to 2011. He was named Commander-in-Chief of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) in 2005, following the death of John Garang. Kiir was born to the Dinka ethnic group and joined Anyanya rebels fighting for Southern independence during the First Sudanese Civil War in the late 1960s. Following the outbreak of the Second Sudanese Civil War in 1983, Kiir joined the new Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) rebel group led by John Garang as a member of its armed wing, the Sudanese People's Liberation Army (SPLA), eventually becoming the head of the SPLA. Following the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, the South gained autonomy under the leadership of Garang in July 2005. Following Garang's death at the end of the month, Kiir became the new President of the Southern Autonomous region, as well as First Vice President of the central government. Kiir won re-election as President following the 2010 South Sudanese general election. The following year, South Sudan gained independence after the 2011 South Sudanese independence referendum with Kiir as its inaugural President.

2. Riek Machar (b. 1953)

With an HPI of 52.31, Riek Machar is the 2nd most famous South Sudanese Politician.  His biography has been translated into 30 different languages.

Riek Machar Teny Dhurgon (born 26 November 1952) is a South Sudanese politician who has served as the First Vice President of South Sudan since 2020. A member of the Nuer ethnic group, Machar earned degrees in engineering from Khartoum University and the University of Bradford. In 1984, he joined the Sudanese People's Liberation Army/Movement (SPLM/A) rebel group fighting for southern independence during the Second Sudanese Civil War. Due to a rift with SPLM/A leader John Garang, Machar was ejected from the group in 1991, and founded the SPLA-Nasir splinter group. Later that year, Machar was involved in the Bor Massacre, in which his forces took part in the massacre of at least 2000 Dinka civilians. Over the next several years, Machar led several different rebel groups and militias, including the SPLA-United, the South Sudan Independence Movement/Army (SSIM/A), the South Sudan Defence Forces (SSDF) and the Sudan People's Defense Forces/Democratic Front (SPDF), before reuniting with Garang and the SPLM/A in 2002. Following the end of the Second Sudanese Civil War in 2005, Machar was made Vice President of the Southern Sudan Autonomous Region with Garang's successor Salva Kiir Mayardit as President. Following the South's gaining of independence in 2011, Machar became Vice President of the independent republic of South Sudan with Kiir as President.