Former US special envoy Princeton Lyman dies at 82

August 24, 2018 (WASHINGTON) – Former US Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan Ambassador Princeton N. Lyman died on Friday at the age of 82, family and friends said.

Princeton served as special envoy for Sudan and South Sudan from March 2011 to March 2013 tasked with the implementation of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement and the normalization of relations with Khartoum which was under economic embargo and still on the list of the states sponsoring terrorism.

He was a deputy assistant secretary of state for African affairs (1981-1986), U.S. ambassador to Nigeria (1986-1989), director of refugee programs (1989-1992), U.S. ambassador to South Africa (1992-1995), and assistant secretary of state for international organization affairs (1996-1998), among others.

South Sudan Embassy in Washington issued a statement of condolence pointing that Lyman during his two-year assignation “dedicated his time to ensure the viability and the success of the Republic of South Sudan and the Republic of the Sudan”

“On behalf of the people and the Government of the Republic of South Sudan, I wish to convey my heartfelt condolences to the family of Ambassador Lyman, the Government and people of the United States of America,” wrote Ambassador Gordon Buay, the charge d’affaires of South Sudan’s embassy in Washington.

Even after his resignation, Lyman remained closely following the situation on the Two Sudans.

He advocated for the lift of economic sanctions on Sudan and to link the removal from the terror with the settlement of armed conflicts and democratic reforms in Sudan. For the South Sudan crisis, he called for democratic reforms and minimised the SPLM reunification process as a tool to end the conflict.

Several institutions such as the Fund for Peace, the Stanley Foundation and a huge number of activists from South Sudan and Sudan released messages of condolence on the death of Lyman.

(ST)