SUMMARY

The National Front was a coalition of religious conservative parties opposed to the Government of Sudan, formed during the early 1970s. It consisted of three groups: one faction of the Umma party led by Sadiq al-Mahdi, the Islamic Charter Front (which was the political face of the Islamic Movement and Muslim Brotherhood in Sudan) and the Democratic Unionist Party. Together, the National Front opposed the pro-western, secular politics of the Government of Sudan under the leadership of President Gaafar Mohamed el-Nimeiri. As these political parties had been banned, the National Front was organized by exiled politicians.

As an umbrella opposition group, the National Front inspired several uprisings and coup attempts against the Government of Sudan, most notably the failed military coup in 1976 (see Government of Sudan – National Front). In 1977, the National Front collapsed after discussions with President Nimeiri resulted in the Islamic Charter Front and Umma Party leaving the coalition to support the Government of Sudan.

In 1976, the National Front reportedly had 3000 fighters, of which 1000 were led and mobilized for the coup attempt by the Umma Party.

The National Front was dominated by al-Sadiq al-Mahdi, who led the Umma-party faction within the coalition and was former Prime Minister. The other leaders were Hussein al-Hindi, who led the Democratic Unionist Party and was former Minister of Finance; and Hasan al-Turabi, who led the Islamic Charter Front and was the leading Islamic ideologue in Sudan.

The Government of Libya provided military training and arms to the forces of the National Front in 1976.