South Sudan

About the Book

This is the first volume of the Biographical Dictionary of South Sudan, an ongoing research project begun in July 2001. As the subtitle of the book, the Notable Firsts, suggests, this volume is primarily concerned with historically significant South Sudanese personalities, deceased and contemporary alike, and their illustrious careers. Luminaries from all walks of life are featured, including politics, traditional leadership, civil service, academia, and sports. This book has several main aims. Its primary aim is historical. It presents biographical profiles or accounts of the entrants and highlights the accomplishments and contributions of entrants in their respective fields of expertise or in the public sphere. But the aim of this study is not only to preset entrants’ biographies. It is mostly to place the entries in a broader historical perspective. The biographical dictionary, though concerned about personal accounts of entrants, it discusses pivotal events that shaped the history of South Sudan. The biographies are essentially linked to historical events that shaped or influenced the country’s trajectory throughout the period in question. Central to understanding the history of South Sudan is the biographical information of personalities who have taken part in major events or who have assumed important offices in the country.

About the Author

Kuyok Abol Kuyok was born in 1964 in Rumbek, Bahr el Ghazal. He studied at Rumbek Secondary School (1980–82) and received his BEd (Arts) from the University of Juba in April1988 and a Postgraduate Diploma in International Relations from the University of Khartoum in February 1991. He won a Foreign and Commonwealth (FCO) Fellowship to study for a master’s degree in education at the University of Hull in 1993. He also holds a master of research in education and social science and a doctorate from the Institute of Education, University of London. He taught geography in several secondary schools in Khartoum between 1988 and 1993. In the Great Britain, he served as a Research Fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies in Education (IPSE), London Metropolitan University. Kuyok Abol Kuyok returned to South Sudan in October 2009 to join the Ministry of Higher Education as Director General for Universities. He was subsequently seconded to the Office of the President as the Head of the Technical Secretariat for the Southern Sudan 2011 Taskforce (SS2011TF). He teaches Sociology of Education and Comparative Education at the College of Education, University of Juba.