Omer Hassan Ahmed el Beshir

President (since 1989)

Date of Birth: 01/01/1944
Place of Birth: Hoshe Bannaga

Married to Fatima Khalid and, second wife, Widad Babiker Omer. No children

Career: Joined the Sudanese Armed Forces, 1960; Graduated as a officer from the Sudan Military College, Khartoum, 1966; Served against Israel in the Yom Kippur War, 1973; military attache, UAE, 1975-79, garrison commander, Khartoum, 1979-81; Head of the armoured parachute brigade, Khartoum, 1981-87; Commander of the 8th Brigade, fighting in Southern Sudan, 1988; Led military coup, overthrowing Prime Minister Sadiq al-Madhi, June 1989; Minister of Defence, 1989-93; Passed the Criminal Act, introducing Sharia in all provinces except the South, 1991; Appointed President, 1993; Won Presidential Elections, 1996; Indicted by the ICC on five counts of crimes against humanity and two counts of war crimes, Mar 2009.