Salva Kiir Mayardit

Kiir is married to Mary Ayen Mayardit. Mary is the founder and contributor of Concern for Women and Children, better known as the CWC. The couple has two children- Munuti Salva Kiir, a son, and Adut Mayardit, a daughter.

Salva Kiir Mayardit was born in Akon, Sudan (now South Sudan), on September 13, 1951. He was born into a family that was a part of the ‘Dinka’ ethnicity.

During the first Sudan Civil War, he became a part of the ‘Anya Nya’. The ‘Anya Nya’ was a major southern separatist movement in the fight against the northern government. The civil war raged through the nation from 1955 to 1972.

In 1972, when the fighting ended, he was enlisted into the ‘Sudanese National Army’ and managed to attain the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

When aggressors returned in 1983, several high ranking officers defaulted from the ‘National Army’. This included Kiir and Colonel John Garang de Mabior.

He along with Garang formed the ‘SPLM’ and’ SPLA’ - the ‘Sudan People’s Liberation Army and Movement.’ These groups became the key southern rebel group against the northern government faction in 1983.

During his time in the ‘SPLM’ and ‘SPLA,’ he was designated as one of Garang’s topmost deputies. He also became the deputy and commander of the ‘SPLA Council’ and held portfolios for domestic and foreign intelligence and affairs.

He was an important participant in the negotiations between the northern Sudanese government and the Southern rebels. The negotiations ultimately led to the forming of the ‘Comprehensive Peace Agreement’ in 2005 and thus ended Sudan’s second civil war. The ‘CPA’ formed the semiautonomous region of South Sudan.

During South Sudan’s second anniversary of being a fully independent nation, he outlined his reformation plans for the newborn country. These included rebuilding the countryside and designing a transportation infrastructure that would allow them to use substitute routes for oil exports by means of Uganda, Kenya, and Ethiopia and avoid going through the still hostile north Sudan.