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In an arrangement with the former President of Sudan, Omar al-Bashir, Salva Kiir Mayardit was made 'President of the Government of Southern Sudan' and 'First Vice President of (the entire) Sudan' in 2005.
This set the stage for a formal split from the North which came 6 years later, made official by referendum on January 9, 2011 (99% voted in favor of separation) [Link]
Kiir declared July 9, 2011 South Sudan's independence day and himself the 1st 'President of South Sudan' the same day.
Kiir's dismissal of his Vice President, Riek Machar, a member of the minority Nuer tribe (Kiir is a member of the Dinka tribe), on July 23, 2013 was taken as a personal affront against all Nuers, which resulted in a civil war.
Over 400,000 deaths later, Kiir and Machar came to an understanding on February 21, 2020 - Machar would get his old job back and Machar's men from the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO), along with other parties and militias willing to reconcile, would join Kiir in a 'Unity Government' [Link]
The "unity government" will consist of 35 ministers, 10 deputy ministers, and a 550-member parliament.
The incumbent government led by Kiir will have two vice presidents, 21 ministers, five deputy ministers, and 332 parliament members.
Machar’s SPLM-IO will hold the previously-mentioned post of first vice president, nine ministers, three deputy ministers and 128 parliament members.
The South Sudan Opposition Alliance will have one vice president, three ministers, one deputy minister, and 50 parliament members.
The "Former Detainees" group will have one vice president, two ministers and 10 parliament members.
The remainder (one minister, one deputy minister, and 30 parliament members) will be left open to split between other (more-or-less resistant) political-parties-cum-militias should they decide to join the "unity government" later.
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