Sudan’s New Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok Takes Office

FILE - In this Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2019 file photo, Sudan’s new Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok speaks duringa press conference in Khartoum, Sudan, Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2019. For the first time in three decades, Sudan has charted a path out of military rule with the formation of a transitional government in which power is shared with civilians. But the fragile transition will be tested as leaders confront a daunting array of challenges. Decades of war and corruption have left the economy in shambles, and a U.S. terror designation has hindered Sudan’s return from its longtime status as a global pariah.
FILE - In this Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2019 file photo, Sudan's new Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok speaks duringa press conference in Khartoum, Sudan, Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2019. For the first time in three decades, Sudan has charted a path out of military rule with the formation of a transitional government in which power is shared with civilians. But the fragile transition will be tested as leaders confront a daunting array of challenges. Decades of war and corruption have left the economy in shambles, and a U.S. terror designation has hindered Sudan’s return from its longtime status as a global pariah. AP Photo, File
FILE - In this Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2019 file photo, Sudan’s new Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok speaks duringa press conference in Khartoum, Sudan, Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2019. For the first time in three decades, Sudan has charted a path out of military rule with the formation of a transitional government in which power is shared with civilians. But the fragile transition will be tested as leaders confront a daunting array of challenges. Decades of war and corruption have left the economy in shambles, and a U.S. terror designation has hindered Sudan’s return from its longtime status as a global pariah.
FILE - In this Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2019 file photo, Sudan's new Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok speaks duringa press conference in Khartoum, Sudan, Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2019. For the first time in three decades, Sudan has charted a path out of military rule with the formation of a transitional government in which power is shared with civilians. But the fragile transition will be tested as leaders confront a daunting array of challenges. Decades of war and corruption have left the economy in shambles, and a U.S. terror designation has hindered Sudan’s return from its longtime status as a global pariah. AP Photo, File

Sudan’s New Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok Takes Office

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Sudan’s new Prime Minister, Abdalla Hamdok, took his oath of office last week. Widespread popular protest had compelled the country’s military to force the previous ruler Omar al-Bashir to step down from power in April, and a group that formed from the protests called the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) spent several months negotiating with the Sudanese military transitional council to implement a framework for a civilian-led government and democratic elections. The FFC chose Hamdok, a prominent economist, to lead the country and to install a 20-member cabinet. He has authority over every position except the ministers of defense and the interior, who will be chosen by the transitional military council.

Hamdok, in his swearing-in speech, promised to address the long-term economic crisis that has plagued Sudan with high rates of inflation and unemployment, and which ultimately lit the fuse for the protests against al-Bashir in the first place. We’ll chat about the tasks ahead of Hamdok with Amal Hassan Fadlalla, associate professor of anthropology at the University of Michigan and the author of a recent book on Sudan, Branding Humanity: Competing Narratives of Rights, Violence, and Global Citizenship.