Ahmed al-Mirghani

Ahmad Ali Al-Mirghani (; 16 August 1941 – 2 November 2008) was a Sudanese politician who served as the third President of Sudan from 1986 to 1989, when the democratically elected government was overthrown by a military coup led by Omar al-Bashir.

Early life Al-Mirghani was the descendant of the respected Mirghani family of Sudan and the son Ali al-Mirghani great-great-grandson of Al Sayyid Mohammed Uthman al-Mirghani al-Khatim. Ahmad Al-Mirghani held the title of Sayyid, denoting that he was accepted as a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He graduated with a first class degree from the University of London and returned to Sudan. He played a major role in convincing King Faisal of Saudi Arabia to travel and meet President Nasser of Egypt in Sudan in the famous 1967 Arab League summit in Khartoum.

Presidency Al-Mirghani was elected President of Sudan in May 1986 after the country's last democratic elections. Under him an economic recovery program was created which began to be used in August 1987. This program was followed, beginning in October 1988, by a three-year recovery program to reform trade policy and regulate the exchange rate, reduce subsidies and the Budget deficit, and encourage exports and privatization. He was unseated during the 1989 Sudanese coup d'état, led by Omar al-Bashir.

Later years Following the coup Al-Mirghani lived in Alexandria, Egypt. He returned to Sudan shortly before his death and lobbied for peace in the War in Darfur.

Panama Papers

In April 2016, al-Mirghani was named in the Panama Papers as owner of Orange Star Corporation, which was created in 1995 and based in the British Virgin Islands, an offshore tax haven that is often used for tax-evasion purposes. The Panama Papers revealed that Orange Star bought an apartment North of the Hyde Park area in London for £600,000. Today, apartments in the same area are sold for over 2 million British pounds. In 2008 at the time of al-Mirghani's death through the company he held 2.72 million US dollars in assets.