1955 — Sudan's Parliament Declares Independence

On December 19, 1955, Sudan's House of Representatives unanimously adopted a declaration of independence, led by Prime Minister Ismail al-Azhari. The vote in Khartoum was the decisive act: a parliament speaking with one voice, claiming sovereignty for its country rather than waiting for freedom to be granted from elsewhere.

Both Egypt and Britain recognized the new sovereignty, and on January 1, 1956, Sudan became a free nation. One morning's vote in Khartoum gave birth to what was then Africa's largest country. The unanimity matters to the memory of the day — a declaration carried without a single dissenting voice, and a new year that opened with a new nation.