(Reuters] Sudan’s Abdalla Haddok, who was appointed as the prime minister after a six-week agreement with the military for his return to office following a coup attempt, has resigned.

WHO IS HADOK?

Hamdok was a former U.N. Economic Commission for Africa and African Development Bank official before becoming the prime minister. At the Universities of Khartoum, Manchester and London, he studied economics.

The Sovereign Council appointed him as prime minister in August 2019. This is a civilian-led body that oversees a democratic transition after Omar al-Bashir, the long-ruling autocrat was overthrown.

He stated that his top priorities were to solve an economic crisis and reduce the burden of public debt. Also, peace was a priority in a nation long divided by civil wars.

– He began discussions with World Bank and International Monetary Fund to discuss the restructuring of Sudan’s debt.

– The United States also invited him to negotiate with Sudan’s removal from their list of countries that sponsor terrorist acts. This designation had kept Sudan out of the international financial system for many years. In 2020, Sudan was taken off the list.

– The IMF approved Sudan to the Highly Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC), based upon the country’s willingness to implement macroeconomic reforms. Sudan was able to access new funds and relief from debts exceeding $56 billion.

He advocated economic reforms that included eliminating fuel subsidies, which can run to several billion dollars per year, as well as the floating and devaluation of the currency. He wanted to control the government all firms that were owned by security forces.

Just weeks before his removal from office, he spoke out about the difficulties that had resulted from the reforms and expressed the hope that they would soon have an impact on the ground. He stated that the Sudanese have paid a high price for reforms, and that they cannot be taken as a given.

– He supports the transition of Sudan to civilian-led government. As tensions grew between the army and civilians in the power-sharing administration in September, Hamdok presented a roadmap out of crisis https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/sudans-pm-hamdok-unveils-roadmap-with-political-players-end-crisis-2021-10-15.

I am neither neutral nor a mediator in the conflict. He stated that his clear and unambiguous position was to support the civil democratic transition.

His stand has earned him the support of many. Protesters carried pictures of Hamdok during rallies against the coup and displayed banners featuring him from billboards.

Hamdok signed a contract to be re-elected as Prime Minister, which was opposed by protestors and other political figures. He said that he did this to stop bloodshed following the deaths of several civilians during demonstrations.