Riek Machar

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Riek Machar
1st & 4th First Vice President of South Sudan
Incumbent
Assumed office 21 February 2020
President	Salva Kiir Mayardit
Preceded by	Taban Deng Gai
In office 26 April 2016 – 23 July 2016[1]
President	Salva Kiir Mayardit
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Taban Deng Gai
1st Vice President of South Sudan
In office 9 July 2011 – 23 July 2013
President	Salva Kiir Mayardit
Preceded by	Himself as Vice President of Southern Sudan
Succeeded by	James Wani Igga
2nd Vice President of Southern Sudan
In office 11 August 2005 – 9 July 2011
President	Salva Kiir Mayardit
Preceded by	Salva Kiir Mayardit
Succeeded by	Himself as Vice President of South Sudan
Personal details
Born	Riek Machar Teny Dhurgon (1952-11-26) November 26, 1952 (age 71)[2] Leer, Upper Nile, Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (Now South Sudan)
Nationality	South Sudanese
Political party	Sudan People's Liberation Movement
Other political affiliations	Sudan People's Liberation Movement-in-Opposition
Spouse(s)	Emma McCune Angelina Teny
Children	4
Alma mater	University of Khartoum University of Bradford
Nickname	SENNAR[3]
Military service
Allegiance	SPLA, SPLA-Nasir, SPLA-IO
Battles/wars	Second Sudanese Civil War South Sudanese Civil War

Riek Machar Teny Dhurgon (born 26 November 1952) is a South Sudanese politician who has served as the First Vice President of South Sudan since 2020.

A memeber of the Nuer ethnic group, Machar earned degrees in engineering from Khartoum University and the University of Bradford. In 1984, he joined the Sudanese People's Liberation Army/Movement (SPLM/A) rebel group fighting for southern independence during the Second Sudanese Civil War. Due to a rift with SPLM/A leader John Garang, Machar was ejected from the group in 1991, and founded the SPLA-Nasir splinter group. Later that year, Machar was involved in the Bor Massacre, in which his forces took part in the massacre of at least 2000 Dinka civilians. Over the next several years, Machar led several different rebel groups and militias, including the SPLA-United, the South Sudan Independence Movement/Army (SSIM/A), the South Sudan Defence Forces (SSDF) and the Sudan People's Defense Forces/Democratic Front (SPDF), before reuniting with Garang and the SPLM/A in 2002. Following the end of the Second Sudanese Civil War in 2005, Machar was made Vice President of the Southern Sudan Autonomous Region with Garang's successor Salva Kiir Mayardit as President. Following the South's gaining of independence in 2011, Machar became Vice President of the independent republic of South Sudan with Kiir as President.