Riek Machar

==South Sudan politics==
[[File:South Sudan Vice President (8345739210).jpg|thumb|Machar with UK Foreign Secretary [[William Hague]]  in London in January 2013]]
Following the [[2011 South Sudanese independence referendum|independence of South Sudan]], Machar was the vice president of the country. In 2012, he publicly apologized for his part in the Bor massacre as he prepared to pave way for taking the helm of SPLM.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://sudantribune.com/article41540/|title=South Sudan VP confirms apology for Bor Massacre|publisher=sudantribune.com|access-date=20 December 2013|date=4 April 2012}}</ref>

By February 2013 Machar publicly stated his intentions to challenge President Kiir. In July 2013, he, and the entire cabinet, was dismissed from office. Machar said that Kiir's move was a step towards dictatorship.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/video/africa/2013/07/20137287019670555.html|title=South Sudan gripped by power struggle|work=aljazeera.com|access-date=24 July 2016}}</ref> These events in turn led to the [[South Sudanese Civil War]].

After the civil war started, Machar turned towards a "shadowy" group of European arms dealers to arm his forces.{{sfn|Martell|2019|p=235}} Little is known about them. An exception was the Franco-Polish arms dealer [[Pierre Dadak]] who at the time of his arrest at [[Ibiza]] villa on 14 July 2016 was negotiating to sell Machar 40,000 AK-47 assault rifles, 30,000 PKM machine guns and 200,000 boxes of ammunition.{{sfn|Martell|2019|p=235}}

===Return to vice-presidency and second sacking===

In late August 2015, a peace agreement was signed between the government and Machar's rebels. The agreement would make Riek Machar the vice-president again.<ref name="BBC">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-34069032|title=Will South Sudan peace deal be worth the wait?|publisher=bbcnews.com|access-date=26 August 2015|date=26 August 2015}}</ref><ref name=irin>{{cite web|url=http://www.irinnews.org/report/101918/is-south-sudan-s-latest-peace-accord-the-real-deal|title=Is South Sudan's latest peace accord the real deal?|publisher=irinnews.org|access-date=30 August 2015|date=26 August 2015}}</ref> In April 2016, as part of the peace deal, Machar returned to Juba and was sworn in as vice-president.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-36140423|title=South Sudan rebel chief Riek Machar sworn in as vice-president|publisher=bbcnews.com|access-date=26 April 2016|date=26 April 2016}}</ref> Machar fled the capital after [[2016 Juba clashes|renewed fighting]] between the Kiir loyalists and his own loyalists Juba in July 2016.  After a 48-hour ultimatum given by the president to him for returning to Juba to progress with the peace agreement talks passed, the SPLA-IO in Juba appointed lead negotiator [[Taban Deng Gai]] to replace Machar and the government accepted him as acting vice-president. Machar said any talks would be illegal because he had fired Gai.<ref name=Gai>{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/07/south-sudan-opposition-replaces-missing-leader-machar-160723144856580.html|title=South Sudan opposition replaces missing leader Machar|date=23 July 2016|publisher=aljazeera}}</ref>

===After 2017===

In October 2017, Machar was under [[house arrest]] in [[South Africa]].<ref name="veconomist" >{{cite news|title=As South Sudan implodes, America reconsiders its support for the regime|url=https://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21730154-american-officials-are-fed-up-being-lied-violent-crooked|newspaper=[[The Economist]]|date=12 October 2017}}</ref>
His house arrest status was lifted in March 2018.<ref name=returntojuba>{{cite news|title=Machar's house arrest lifted, days in SA numbered|url=https://www.iol.co.za/news/africa/machars-house-arrest-lifted-days-in-sa-numbered-14114037|work=[[Independent Online (South Africa)]]|date=27 March 2018}}</ref> Machar's house confinement in South Africa was also criticized by the media.<ref>{{cite news|url= https://sudantribune.com/article61303|title=The irrationality of the South African detainment of Riek Machar
|publisher=Sudan Tribune|date=31 July 2017|accessdate=31 July 2017}}</ref> Machar returned to Juba in October 2018 following a peace deal that was signed in September 2018. As of May 2019 he was living in Khartoum, the capital of South Sudan's northern neighbor Sudan, following a six-month delay in the implementation of a power sharing deal that was meant to take effect on 12 May 2019.<ref name=iol>{{cite news|title=South Sudan rebel leader Riek Machar returns to Juba|url=https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/world/africa/2018-10-31-south-sudan-rebel-leader-riek--machar-returns-to-juba/|work=[[Business Day (South Africa)]]|date=31 October 2018}}</ref><ref name=delayeddeal>{{cite news|title=Kiir urges rival Machar to return to South Sudan|url=https://mg.co.za/article/2019-05-14-kiir-urges-rival-machar-to-return-to-south-sudan|work=[[Mail & Guardian]]|date=14 May 2019}}</ref> Machar was appointed First Vice-president of South Sudan on 22 February 2020 as part of the Revitalised Transitional Government of National Unity.<ref name="autogenerated1"/>

In 2021, he hinted that the [[2023 South Sudanese general election]] would be postponed.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Africa Live: Nigeria court orders 'maximum comfort' for separatist|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-africa-47639452|access-date=2021-12-02|website=BBC News|language=en-gb}}</ref>