Widow of Sudan SPLM leader part of new govt of the South

Oct 24, 2005 (KHARTOUM) — The widow of rebel leader John Garang has been named a minister in the government of southern Sudan that was announced Sunday by the region’s president.

Garang, who died in a helicopter crash in July, was the first leader of the semiautonomous south. He had led the Sudan People’s Liberation Army and negotiated the January peace agreement with the Sudanese government that ended more than 20 years of civil war.

He was replaced by the south’s current president, Salva Kiir Mayardit.

Garang’s widow, Rebecca de Mabior, will take the post of minister of roads and transportation in the first government since the peace deal was struck. She has been one of the leaders of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, the political wing of the liberation army.

The January peace accord provided for an autonomous south with its own army, government and a new constitution during a six-year interim period. After those six years, the 10 southern states will hold a referendum on independence.

(AP/ST)