Abdelaziz al-Hilu | |
|---|---|
عبد العزيز الحلو | |
| Vice Chairman of theGovernment of Peace and Unity | |
| Assumed office 26 July 2025 | |
| Prime Minister | Mohammed Hassan al-Ta'ishi |
| Chairman | Hemedti |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Leader ofNew Sudan | |
| In office 2011 | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1954-07-07)7 July 1954 (age 71) Al-Faydh Umm Abdullah,Anglo-Egyptian Sudan |
| Nationality | Sudanese |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  SPLM–N (al-Hilu) |
| Battles/wars | |
Abdelaziz Adam al-Hilu[a] (born 7 July 1954) is a Sudanese politician who has been serving as the vice chairman of theGovernment of Peace and Unity since 2025. He is also the leader of theSudan People's Liberation Movement-North (al-Hilu)
Al-Hilu was born in Al-Faydh Umm Abdullah,South Kordofan. He was born, raised and educated in theNuba Mountains. He studied economics at theUniversity of Khartoum, and graduated in 1979.
He is considered one of the most successful SPLA/M commanders in the history of the SPLA and worked with Sudanese revolutionary leaderJohn Garang with the stated goal of creating aSudan that is democratic, fair and free to allSudanese.[citation needed]
In 2011 he lost the election for governor of South Kordofan toAhmed Haroun in a poll rejected by the SPLA as rigged.[1] He had been fighting theSudanese Armed Forces in theSecond Sudanese Civil War and theSouth Kordofan conflict.
In mid-2017, the SPLM–N split into two factions, the SPLM–N (al-Hilu) and SPLM–N (Agar), over disagreements on secularization.[2] Following theSudanese revolution, he declared a temporary unilateral ceasefire "to give the ongoing peace talks an opportunity for success",[3] which was later further extended,[4] during which he reached an agreement with thetransitional government to separate religion and state and not discriminate against anyone's ethnicity on 3 September 2020.[5] He has also called to remove former presidentOmar al-Bashir's militias and to reorganize the Sudanese military, in addition toself-determination in areas controlled by his faction.[6]
On 28 March 2021, al-Hilu signed a peace agreement with the Sudanese government inJuba, South Sudan, in which it would pave the path to establish a civil, democratic federal state in Sudan, in addition to guaranteeing freedom of religion and having a single army to protect national security.[7]
During thecivil war in Sudan which began in 2023, al-Hilu was hesitant to join theTagadum coalition, insisting onsecular governance as a foundation for Sudan's unity and stability. He also supported initiatives to end conflict but emphasized addressing Sudan's deep-rooted issues.[8] His forces in South Kordofan and Blue Nile prioritized defending citizens and ensuring aid reached civilians.[9][10][11] In February 2025, al-Hilu supported theRapid Support Forces (RSF)'s attempt to form aparallel government inNairobi,Kenya.[12] In July 2025, he was proclaimed the deputy leader of a governing alliance headed by the RSF's leaderHemedti.[13]