1. Early Life and Education:
Asmaa Mohamed Abd Allah was born in Khartoum, Sudan in 1946. She graduated from the University of Khartoum in 1971, majoring in Economics and Political Science.
2. Career in Diplomacy:
Her academic pursuits enabled her to get an early career in Sudanese diplomacy. She was soon appointed to become the Deputy Director of the Americas Department at the Sudanese Foreign Affairs ministry. She also served in various diplomatic missions such as those in Stockholm, Rabat and was once Sudan’s Ambassador to Norway. She even worked as a consultant in the Islamic Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization.
3. Separation of the Public Interest:
In 1991, now ousted president Omar Al Bashir sacked Abd Allah from the diplomatic corps and the foreign affairs ministry. This sacking came under a new law he had introduced called “separation of the public interest”, which meant to remove non-loyalist forces from state and government affairs.
4. Creating a Refuge Home for Sudanese Expats:
Soon after her sacking, she moved to Rabat, Morocco with her husband, where she established a translation center. Moreover, she also turned her Rabat home into a “mini embassy” or a refuge point for Sudanese students where the kind woman would provide them with advice, or general help and she would even cook Sudanese cuisine for them from time to time.
5.Return to Diplomacy and Return to Sudan:
Abd Allah returned to Sudan during the 2018-2019 protests against Bashir, where she joined the civilian Forces of Freedom and Change (FCC) and becoming part of its foreign policy team. Later as the military council and the FFC formed a coalition transitional government, the later added her to the candidacy list for prospective foreign ministers. Abdalla Hamdok, the country’s transitional Prime Minister, subsequently chose her to become the new Foreign Minister for the next transitionary period of 39 months. As a result, history was made as Asmaa Abd Allah became Sudan’s first female foreign minister.
