{{Short description|South Sudanese politician}} {{update|date=June 2020}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Lam Akol | native_name = | native_name_lang = | image = <!--If this is specified, "image" should not be.--> | alt = | caption = | order = | office = Chairman of the NDM | term_start = 2016 | alongside = <!--For two or more people serving in the same position from the same district. (e.g. United States Senators.)--> | office1 = Chairman of the SPLM-DC | term_start1 = June 2009 | alongside1 = <!--For two or more people serving in the same position from the same district. (e.g. United States Senators.)--> | deputy1 = | lieutenant1 = | monarch1 = | president1 = | taoiseach1 = | chancellor1 = | governor1 = | governor-general1 = | governor_general1 = | constituency1 = | majority1 = | succeeding1 = <!--For President-elect or equivalent--> | predecessor1 = | successor1 = | prior_term1 = | order2 = <!--Can be repeated up to eight times by changing the number--> | office2 = Minister of Cabinet Affairs of Sudan | term_start2 = 17 October 2007 | term_end2 = Unknown | alongside2 = <!--Can be repeated up to eight times by changing the number--> | vice_prime_minister2 = <!--Can be repeated up to eight times by changing the number--> | deputy2 = <!--Can be repeated up to eight times by changing the number--> | president2 = Omar al-Bashir | prime_minister2 = <!--Can be repeated up to eight times by changing the number--> | predecessor2 = Deng Alor | successor2 = Dr. Luka Biong | order3 = <!--Can be repeated up to eight times by changing the number--> | office3 = Foreign Minister of Sudan | term_start3 = 20 January 2005 | term_end3 = 17 October 2007 | alongside3 = <!--Can be repeated up to eight times by changing the number--> | vice_prime_minister3 = <!--Can be repeated up to eight times by changing the number--> | deputy3 = <!--Can be repeated up to eight times by changing the number--> | president3 = Omar al-Bashir | prime_minister3 = <!--Can be repeated up to eight times by changing the number--> | predecessor3 = Mustafa Osman Ismail | successor3 = Deng Alor | order4 = <!--Can be repeated up to eight times by changing the number--> | office4 = Transport Minister of Sudan | term_start4 = March 1998 | term_end4 = 2002 | alongside4 = <!--Can be repeated up to eight times by changing the number--> | vice_prime_minister4 = <!--Can be repeated up to eight times by changing the number--> | deputy4 = <!--Can be repeated up to eight times by changing the number--> | president4 = Omar al-Bashir | prime_minister4 = <!--Can be repeated up to eight times by changing the number--> | predecessor4 = <!--Can be repeated up to eight times by changing the number--> | successor4 = <!--Can be repeated up to eight times by changing the number--> | birth_date = {{Birth date and age text|July 15, 1950}} | birth_place = Athidhwoi, Upper Nile | death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} or {{Death-date and age|Month DD, YYYY|Month DD, YYYY}} (death date then birth date) --> | death_place = | citizenship = | party = NDM <small>(since 2016)</small> | other_party = National Congress <small>(until 2002)</small><br>Justice Party <small>(2002-2003)</small><br>SPLM <small>(2003-2009)</small> | partner = <!--For those with a domestic partner and not married--> | relations = | children = | alma_mater = Imperial College London | occupation = | profession = | cabinet = | committees = | portfolio = | signature = | signature_alt = | website = | footnotes = <!--Military service--> | nickname = Alpha Beta<ref name=Akol>{{cite book|last=Akol|first=Lam|title=SPLM/SPLA : the Nasir Declaration|year=2003|publisher=iUniverse, Inc.|location=New York|isbn=0595284590|page=14}}</ref> | allegiance = {{Flagicon image|Flag of the SPLA (until 2011).svg}} SPLA <small>(1983-1991)</small><br>{{Flagicon image|Flag of the SPLA-Nasir.svg}} SPLA-Nasir <small>(1991-2002)</small> | branch = | rank = | unit = | commands = | battles = Second Sudanese Civil War | awards = }} '''Lam Akol Ajawin''', is a South Sudanese politician of Shilluk descent.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lam Akol's NDM trashes procedure of Kiir's transitional period roadmap |url=https://radiotamazuj.org/en/news/article/lam-akols-ndm-trashes-procedure-of-kiirs-transitional-period-roadmap |access-date=2022-08-12 |website=Radio Tamazuj |date=19 July 2022 |language=en}}</ref> He is the current leader of National Democratic Movement (NDM) party.<ref>{{cite web | last=Chiengkou | first=Ajak Deng | title=Dr Lam Akol: '28 or 21 States were created for political gain but there was no study' | website=SBS (Your Language) | date=14 February 2016 | url=https://www.sbs.com.au/language/english/audio/dr-lam-akol-28-or-21-states-were-created-for-political-gain-but-there-was-no-study | access-date=21 June 2020}}</ref> He is a former high-ranking official in the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), and subsequently became the Foreign Minister of Sudan from September 2005 to October 2007, when the Khartoum government offered the SPLA several other key ministries as part of a peace agreement.
== Early life == Akol was born on 15 July 1950 in Athidhwoi, Upper Nile. He received a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Imperial College London and taught at the University of Khartoum.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lam Akol's NDM says there is no political will to hold elections |url=https://radiotamazuj.org/en/news/article/lam-akols-ndm-says-there-is-no-political-will-to-hold-elections |access-date=2022-08-12 |website=Radio Tamazuj |date=23 June 2022 |language=en}}</ref>
==SPLA== Akol joined the SPLA in 1986 after having been a clandestine member since October 1983. In 1991 he joined Riek Machar and Gordon Kong to break from the SPLA and form the SPLA-Nasir.<ref name=young/> On 5 April 1993, after they were joined by William Nyuon Bany and they joined forces with another faction under Kerubino Kwanyin Bol, the name of their faction was changed to SPLA-United.<ref name=militiacsm>{{cite web | title=Pro-Government Militias:Documentation for Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army - United (SPLM/A-United) | website= Pro-Government Militias Database (PGMD) | date=14 April 1993 | url=https://militiasdb.sowi.uni-mannheim.de/militias-public/pgag/265/evidence/ | access-date=21 June 2020|others=Extract from ''Christian Science Monitor'', 14 April 1993}}</ref><ref name=banks>{{cite book | last1=Banks | first1=A.S. | last2=Day | first2=A.J. | last3=Muller | first3=T.C. | title=Political Handbook of the World 1998 | publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK | year=2016 | isbn=978-1-349-14951-3 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D6mFCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA875 | access-date=22 June 2020 | page=875}}</ref>
Akol was dismissed by Machar in February 1994 and became chairman of one faction of SPLM/A-United following unity with senior SPLA commanders who were under detention by orders of John Garang. He subsequently signed the Fashoda Peace Agreement with the government in 1997 and was appointed in March 1998 Sudan's Minister of Transportation, a post he held for four years. In 2002 Akol resigned from the ruling National Congress (NCP), and became a key member of the newly-formed opposition Justice Party. He, with most of his forces, rejoined the SPLA in October 2003.<ref name=young>John Young, [http://www.smallarmssurveysudan.org/pdfs/HSBA-SIB-2-SSDF.pdf ''The South Sudan Defence Forces in the Wake of the Juba Declaration''], HSBA Issue Brief No. 2 (October 2006), p. 15</ref>
In 2005 Akol wrote a piece detailing his role as a negotiator on behalf of Garang in the initiation of Operation Lifeline Sudan.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110612012754/http://www.c-r.org/our-work/accord/engaging-groups/operation-lifeline.php Operation Lifeline Sudan: war, peace and relief in southern Sudan]</ref>
In October 2007, the SPLM withdrew from the Khartoum government; it demanded, among other things, that Akol be removed from his position as Minister of Foreign Affairs, as he was accused of being too close to the regime. The Chairman of SPLM nominated him as Minister of Cabinet Affairs which was confirmed on 17 October by President Omar al-Bashir, and appointed Deng Alor, a leading SPLM member (member of the SPLM political bureau) who had previously been the Minister of Cabinet Affairs, to replace Akol as Foreign Minister.
==NDM and SSOA Coalition== In May 7, 2025, Dr. Lam Akol Ajawin was appointed as the minister of Transport from the South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA) coalition.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kiir names Dr. Lam Akol Transport Minister in cabinet reshuffle|url=https://www.eyeradio.org/kiir-names-dr-lam-akol-transport-minister-in-cabinet-reshuffle/ |access-date=2025-05-29 |website=Eye Radio|date=8 May 2025 |language=en}}</ref>
==International Forum== thumb|Lam Akol Ajawin – National Minister of Transport at the Plenary session at SPIEF’2025 On 20 June 2025, Akol questioned the membership of an African Country to be one of the Permanent Members of the UNSC during the SPIEF event.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2025-06-22 |date=20 June 2025 |language=en |title=WHY CAN'T AFRICA HAVE A PERMANENT SEAT IN UNSC – LAM AKOL QUESTIONS RUSSIA - Ministry of Information, Communication Technology and Postal Services |url=https://mictps.gov.ss/why-cant-africa-have-a-permanent-seat-in-unsc-lam-akol-questions-russia/ |website=mictps}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|access-date=2025-06-22 |date=20 June 2025 |language=en |title=Lam Akol to Russia: Why can't Africa have permanent seat at UNSC? - Sudans Post |url=https://www.sudanspost.com/lam-akol-to-russia-why-cant-africa-have-permanent-seat-at-unsc/ |website=Sudans Post}}</ref>
==Bibliography== *{{cite book |title=SPLM/SPLA: Inside an African Revolution |author=Lam Akol |publisher=Khartoum University Press |year=2001 |edition=1st |isbn=978-99942-990-6-5}} *{{cite book |title=SPLM/SPLA: the Nasir Declaration |author=Lam Akol |publisher=iUniverse |year=2003 |isbn=0-595-28459-0}} *{{cite book |title=Southern Sudan: colonialism, resistance, and autonomy |author=Lam Akol |publisher=The Red Sea Press, Inc. |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-56902-264-1}}
==References== {{Reflist}} * [http://www.worldwhoswho.com/views/entry.html?id=sl1446183 AKOL, Lam] International Who's Who. * [https://www.eyeradio.org/kiir-names-dr-lam-akol-transport-minister-in-cabinet-reshuffle/ Kiir names Dr. Lam Akol Transport Minister in cabinet reshuffle]
==Further reading== *{{cite web | last=Abdalla | first=Yaseen Mohmad | title=South Sudan's Lam Akol forms new rebel movement | website=Sudan Tribune: Plural news and views on Sudan | date=25 September 2016 | url=https://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article60345}}
{{s-start}} {{succession box|title=Foreign Minister of Republic of Sudan|years=2005–2007|before=Mustafa Osman Ismail|after=Deng Alor}} {{s-end}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Akol, Lam}} Category:1950 births Category:Living people Category:People from Upper Nile (state) Category:Shilluk people Category:Sudan People's Liberation Movement politicians Category:South Sudan Opposition Alliance politicians Category:Foreign ministers of Sudan Category:Transport ministers of Sudan Category:Cabinet affairs ministers of Sudan Category:21st-century Sudanese diplomats Category:Alumni of Imperial College London Category:University of Khartoum alumni Category:Academic staff of the University of Khartoum Category:SPLM/SPLA Political-Military High Command Category:Second Sudanese Civil War