Background
Ibrahim was born in 1933, at En Nahud, 150 miles south-west of El Obeid.
Ibrahim was born in 1933, at En Nahud, 150 miles south-west of El Obeid.
Educated locally then at Ed Dueim Intermediate School and Hantoub Secondary School. Studied commerce in Egypt and graduated from Alexandria University in 1958.
On returning to the Sudan he joined the government service, working first in the Ministry of Commerce then in the Agricultural Bank. In 1964 he resigned as a civil servant and became deputy director of the Khartoum Textile Company. He left to join the board of the Sudan Textile Company and then moved to become general manager of Gulf International in Khartoum.
He entered the cabinet at 38 as Minister of Economics and Trade on October 14, 1971. In keeping with his trade expansion aims he went to India in August 1972 and signed an agreement to export long-staple cotton in return for jute, tea, machinery and chemicals. At the October 1972 reshuffle his ministry and the Ministry of Supply were merged into the Ministry of National Economy with him in charge. His authority was increased to cover Finance and the National Economy in the new cabinet of May 1973.
Civil servant-turned-businessman with a close knowledge of the textile industry. Brought into President Nimeri’s government because of his expertise in foreign trade and given the mandate to expand Sudanese exports in trade agreements and to handle negotiations for compensating nationalised foreign companies.