21/8/19: Civilian members of Sudan’s sovereign council

The 6 civilian members of Sudan’s ruling sovereign council, as agreed on the Forces of Freedom and Change are:

1. Mohammed Hassan Al-Taishi:

A Sudan Professionals Association candidate, who was put back on the list after his dismissal sparked a social media debate. He was born in Darfur, and was a member of the Umma Party, until he left for the UK in 2009.

2. Dr. Aisha Musa Al-Saeed:

A university professor born in El-Obeid, she has a Masters degree from the University of Manchester and a higher diploma from Leeds University. She is the widow of famous Sudanese poet Mohamed Abdelhay. She worked as an English professor and translator at Sudanese and Saudi universities. She was selected as a member of the Sudanese Women’s Union, and is known for her track-record in activism and civil society.

3. Mohammed Elfaki Soliman:

A journalist who is part of Unionist Alliance, and the youngest council member (aged 40). He has a political science degree from the University of Khartoum. A columnist for Sudanese newspaper Al-Qarar, he has also published two novels and a political book called “Building the Sudanese state”.

4. Hassan Mohammed Sheikh Idris:

From Kassala, he is a law graduate from the University of Khartoum, with experience of working in state institutions, including:

Legal assistant at he Sudanese Attorney General's Office, and then a legal advisor to the Central Bank of Sudan from 1974-1978.
In 1981, he was appointed Deputy Prosecutor of Kassala City.
He was elected as a member of the Sudanese parliament for western Kassala constituency in the elections that followed the April 1985 revolution in 1986.
He was then chairman of the Decentralized Governance and Regional Affairs Committee, and served as Minister of Housing and Public Works.

5. Professor Siddig Tawer Kafi:

Professor Tawer is known for belonging to the Arab Socialist Baath Party. He is an esteemed physics academic, with a good reputation in Sudanese, Saudi, British and German universities. He has published several papers on the Sudanese mining industry.

He has also co-organised activities to secure peace in the Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile, and consulted the Sudanese Standards Authority, as well as preparing investment maps for Sudanese conflict zones.

6. Rajaa Nicolas Issa:

The military and the FFC jointly agreed on her as the unaffiliated 11th council member. She is a Christian legal expert who became legal counsel at Sudan’s Ministry of Justice.