Hashem al Atta

Major Hashem al-Atta was a Sudanese military officer and political figure. Although he initially served in the National Revolutionary Command Council under Gaafar Nimeiry, he is best known for leading the 1971 Sudanese coup d'état. Operating in strategic alignment with the Sudanese Communist Party (SCP), al-Atta temporarily overthrew Nimeiry to establish a Marxist-Leninist government based on the theoretical framework of a national democratic revolution. The coup was initially successful, but the new revolutionary government collapsed after three days when loyalist military units freed the deposed president. Following the failure of the uprising, al-Atta and the other ringleaders were executed.