Nasredeen Abdulbari (Arabic: نصر الدين عبد الباري) is a Sudanese-American author, lawyer, and human rights advocate[1] who became the Minister of Justice on 9 September 2019 in the transitional cabinet of Abdalla Hamdok, during the 2019 Sudanese transition to democracy.

Nasredeen Abdulbari
نصرالدين عبدالباري
Nasredeen Abdulbari in 2021
Minister of Justice of Sudan
Assumed office
9 September 2019
Prime MinisterAbdalla Hamdok
Preceded byIdris Ibrahim Jameel
Personal details
Born1986 (age 37–38)
Khartoum, Sudan
Political partyForces of Freedom and Change
Alma materUniversity of Khartoum, Harvard University, Georgetown University
OccupationLawyer, academic, and author

Early life and education

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Abdulbari was born to a Fur family in Khartoum, Sudan in 1986. Kalthoum Ismail was his mother. When his older siblings were young, Abdulbari's family moved to Khartoum for better educational opportunities. However, shortly afterwards, his father returned to Darfur, leaving Ismail to raise Abdulbari and his 6 siblings. As a child, Abdulbari studied English.[2]

After completing primary schooling, Abdulbari studied at the University of Khartoum, where he also served as a teaching assistant and later a lecturer in the department of international comparative law. He taught public international law, conflict of laws, and introduction to the English Legal courses. At the University of Khartoum, Abdulbari also met Mohammed Hassan Eltaishi, who would later represent the Sudanese government in peace talks with rebel groups.[3]

Life abroad

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After teaching abroad, Abdulbari received a scholarship from Harvard University to continue studying law, where he would receive a Master of Laws in 2008.[4] In 2018, Abdulbari married his wife, a Sudanese doctor in Britain. Abdulbari would move to London and later Washington, D.C., where he would study at Georgetown University until he was appointed Minister of Justice on 9 September 2019, as he was putting the final touches on his doctoral dissertation.[2] While serving as Minister of Justice, he was able to successfully defend his doctoral dissertation and earn a Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD) degree from Georgetown University Law Center.[citation needed]

Minister of Justice

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Abdulbari was appointed Minister of Justice on 9 September 2019, while he was still living in the United States. As Minister of Justice, Abdulbari has worked to increase the rights of Sudanese citizens and especially women, including the repeal of the Public Order Laws that restricted women's rights in December 2019. Abdulbari has also advocated for Sudan to sign the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.[2]

References

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  1. ^ Abdulbari, Nasredeen. "Nasredeen Abdulbari (@nasabdulbari) / Twitter". Twitter.
  2. ^ a b c Hamilton, Rebecca (5 February 2020). "The Georgetown Student Who Became Justice Minister of Sudan". The Washington Post. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  3. ^ "Key rebel group halts direct peace talks with Khartoum". Middle East Monitor. 16 October 2019. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  4. ^ Abdulbari, Nasredeen (5 June 2008). "Nasredeen Abdulbari: 'Lawyers are the cement of society.'". Harvard University. Retrieved 29 December 2019.