Omar al-Bashir Fast Facts
CNN Editorial Research
Here’s a look at the life of Sudan’s former leader, Omar al-Bashir.
Personal
Birth date: January 1, 1944
Birth place: Hosh Bannaga, Sudan
Birth name: Omar Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir
Father: Name unavailable publicly
Mother: Name unavailable publicly
Marriages: Fatima Khalid; Widad Babiker Omer
Education: Sudan Military Academy, 1966
Military service: Sudanese Armed Forces
Religion: Islam
Timeline
1960 – Joins the Sudanese Armed Forces.
1966 – Graduates from the Sudan Military Academy.
1973 – Serves with Egyptian forces during the October 1973 Arab-Israeli war.
1973-1987 – Holds various military posts.
1989-1993 – Serves as Sudan’s defense minister.
June 30, 1989 – Leads a coup against Sudan’s Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi. Establishes and proclaims himself chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council. Dissolves the government, political parties and trade unions.
April 1990 – Survives a coup attempt. Orders the execution of over 30 army and police officers implicated in the coup attempt.
October 16, 1993 – Becomes president of Sudan when the Revolutionary Command Council is dissolved and Sudan is restored to civilian rule.
March 1996 – Is reelected president with more than 75% of the vote.
December 1999 – Dissolves the Parliament after National Congress Party chairman Hassan al-Turabi proposes laws limiting the president’s powers.
December 2000 – Is reelected president with over 85% of the vote.
February 2003 – Rebels in the Darfur region of Sudan rise up against the Sudanese government.
2004 – Is criticized for not cracking down on the Janjaweed militia, a pro-government militia accused of murdering and raping people in Darfur.
September 2007 – After meeting with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Bashir agrees to peace talks with rebels. Peace talks begin in October, but are postponed indefinitely after most of the major players fail to attend.
July 14, 2008 – The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) files charges against Bashir for genocide and war crimes in Darfur.
March 4, 2009 – The ICC issues an arrest warrant for Bashir.
April 26, 2010 – Sudan’s National Election Commission certifies Bashir as the winner of recent presidential elections with 68% of the vote.
July 12, 2010 – The ICC issues a second arrest warrant for Bashir. Combined, the warrant lists 10 counts against Bashir.
December 12, 2014 – The ICC suspends its case against Bashir due to lack of support from the UN Security Council.
March 9, 2015 – The ICC asks the UN Security Council to take steps to force Sudan to extradite Bashir.
April 27, 2015 – Sudan’s Election Commission announces Bashir has been reelected president with more than 94% of the vote. Many major opposition groups boycott the election.
June 15, 2015 – Bashir leaves South Africa just as a South African High Court decides to order his arrest. The human rights group that had petitioned the court to order Bashir’s arrest, the Southern Africa Litigation Centre, says in a statement it is disappointed that the government allowed the Sudanese president to leave before the ruling.
November 23, 2017 – Agence France Presse and other media outlets report that during a trip to Russia, Bashir asks Putin to protect Sudan from the United States, saying he wants closer military ties with Russia.
December 16, 2018 – Bashir visits Syria. This marks the first time an Arab League leader has visited Syria since war began there in 2011.
February 22, 2019 – Declares a year-long state of emergency in response to months of protests nationwide and calls for his resignation.
March 1, 2019 – Steps down as chairman of the National Congress Party.
April 11, 2019 – After three decades of rule, Bashir is arrested and is forced from power in a military coup. Bashir’s government is dissolved, and a military council assumes control for two years to oversee a transition of power, according to a televised statement by Sudanese Defense Minister Awad Mohamed Ahmed Ibn Auf.
May 13, 2019 – Sudan’s Public Prosecutor’s Office has instructed expedited charges be brought against Bashir in the killing of protestors, according to a statement released to CNN.
August 19, 2019 – Bashir appears in a Khartoum court for the first day of his corruption trial. He has heightened security following a failed attempt by his supporters to break him out of prison.
December 14, 2019 – Bashir is sentenced to two years in a correctional facility after being found guilty of corruption and illegitimate possession of foreign currency.
February 11, 2020 – A member of Sudan’s ruling sovereign council announces that all Sudanese wanted by the ICC will be handed over, including Bashir.
July 21, 2020 – Bashir’s trial over his role in the 1989 coup d’etat that propelled him to power begins in Khartoum. He faces a maximum sentence of death.
August 11, 2021 – In a statement given to CNN, Sudan’s Cabinet of Ministers announce the government will hand Bashir over to the ICC along with other officials wanted over the Darfur conflict.
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