People
Salva Kiir – Biography, Education, Married, Kids, Family, Facts
Salva Kiir from South Sudan started gaining international recognition and popularity in recent times. This could be attributed to his important contributions in the government and politics of South Sudan, the nation which has been beset by many conflicts and chaos over time, leading to its recent gaining of independence. You may or may not have heard of this important and famous Salva Kiir in South Sudan. Even though you’ve heard the name, there are many things I don’t think you know and would like to know about him.
Salva Kiir from South Sudan – Biography and Education
Salva Kiir Mayardit is his full name. He is a South Sudanese politician who has served as President of South Sudan since gaining independence in 2011. Before independence, he was the first Vice President of Sudan from 2005 to 2011.
Salva Kiir was born on September 13, 1951 in the Bahr-el-Ghazal region of northwestern South Sudan. He belongs to the Dinkan tribe, the largest in South Sudan.
Apart from his education at the Sudan Military College, the man has no further education.
Kiir first joined the southern rebellion, the Anyanya Battalion, who attained the rank of officer as a boy during the First Sudanese Civil War in the late 1960s, when Sudan’s President Jaafar Numeiri made peace with the rebels in the 1972 Addis Ababa Accords .
Salva joined the Sudanese Army after the treaty when Dr. John Garang joined an army mutiny he was set to put down in 1983, Kiir and other southern leaders (including Dr. Garang) split from the Sudanese army and joined the Sudanese Rebel Liberation Movement (SPLM) in the second civil war. He then helped Mr. Garang found the SPLM and rose to lead its military wing, which now forms the new state’s army. He also became the deputy to Dr. Garang, who was appointed Vice President of the Republic of Sudan in January 2005.
After the signing of the comprehensive peace agreement between Juba and the government of Khartoum, which officially ended the war in January 2005, Dr. John Garang sworn in as Vice President of the Republic of Sudan. Unfortunately, Dr. Garang about three months later in a helicopter crash. Salva Kiir was elected to succeed the First Vice President of Sudan and the President of South Sudan.
Notably, he led the struggle for independence by the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) and its armed wing, the SPLA. An independent South Sudan was Kiir’s long-cherished dream – far more so than Garang, who advocated greater rights for Southerners in a unified Sudan. In 2005, Kiir said the choice was between being a “second-class citizen in Sudan or a free person” back home.
Declaration by Salva Kiir in October 2009 that the forthcoming independence referendum was for him a choice to be “a second-class citizen in your own country” or “a free person in your independent state” to have won the hearts of millions of South Sudanese. South Sudanese overwhelmingly voted for independence from Sudan in January 2011, with 98.83% of voters reportedly preferring secession from the north. On July 9, 2011, South Sudan became an independent state with Kiir as its first president.
Contrary to what is available in various political leaders, Salva Kiir is a committed Christian. He does not hide his identity as the Church is one of the main platforms for his public speaking.
Judging by his looks and looks, one would certainly Salva Kiir would be a dictator, but on the contrary, he is friendly. This virtue was vindicated when Kiir positioned himself as a reformer and, in his inaugural address, called on the South Sudanese people to “forgive injustices felt by North Sudanese over the past decades, although we will not forget them” and announced a general amnesty for South Sudanese groups who warned about the SPLM in the past.
Although one would not say that Mayardit is an intellectual like his predecessor, Dr. Garang, he still has everything it takes to be a leader and also has significant wisdom. He is open and persuasive. Here are some of his quotes that are worth noting:
People shouldn’t judge me by what they hear. Make her wait and see me in action. Then they will see how I serve my people.
It is the responsibility of all Sudanese, especially political leaders and the media, to strengthen social cohesion through a proper understanding of unity dynamics if they truly want our country to remain united.
The media have a duty to respect truth and social responsibility.
Married, children, family
Kirr is married to Mary Ayen Mayardi, highly regarded in the country. The woman is very popular and is considered a disciplinarian. The two have children, including Munuti Salva Kiir and Adut Mayardit
11 Brief information about Salva Kiir
- He received a cowboy hat from then-US President George Bush in 2006. Today he can only be seen without his hat in church.
- Apart from his military training, the man has had no schooling.
- He has 7 other siblings from his father’s 3 wives.
- He received an honorary doctorate from the Great Lakes University of Kisumu.
- As President, he is strongly opposed to homosexuality.
- He started out as a junior officer in the military and gradually climbed the ladder to become the first Vice President of Sudan and later the first President of South Sudan.
- There were rumors that he married another woman who is the daughter of his former comrade at a private event, but the man he did not comment on.
- Kiir was born to a father who was a cattle herder.
- His father has three wives and his mother is a farmer.
- In his country he is not considered to be absolutely press-friendly.
- The actual number of his wives and children is not known as most things about him are not public.
