November 26, 2020 (Khartoum) Sudan’s cabinet on Thursday declared 3-day national mourning over the death of Sadiq al-Mahdi, a former Sudanese prime minister.
According to a press circular, Sudan council of ministers directed flying of Sudanese flags at half-mast in all state facilities and institutions inside the country, and Sudanese embassies abroad.
Earlier, al-Mahdi, 85, died of the novel coronavirus in the UAE.
His National Umma Party said al-Mahdi’s body will be returned to the country and his burial will take place in the capital Khartoum on Friday.
The Sudanese Professionals’ Association, an umbrella association of trade unions, also expressed grief over the death of the former premier. He was the last democratically elected prime minister whose government was overthrown in 1989 by a military coup led by former President Omar Al-Basheer, who was ousted in April 2019 under the pressure of mass protests.
Al-Mahdi was a well-known Sudanese political figure, who has played an important role in public affairs and has also written several books addressing the situation in Sudan, political Islam, and Sharia laws in Islam.