James Hoth Mai | |
---|---|
General Hoth Mai fronting a news conference in Juba, January 2014 | |
Born | Ulang County, Upper Nile, Republic of Sudan | November 30, 1959
Allegiance | ![]() |
Service/ | Sudan People's Liberation Army |
Years of service | 1983–present |
Rank | General |
Commands | SPLA (as Chief of General Staff) |
Battles/wars |
General James Hoth Mai (born November 30, 1959)[1] is a South Sudanese army officer. He served as Chief of General Staff of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) from 2009 until 2014.
Biography
[edit]Ethnically a member of the Nuer people,[2] Hoth was born in Ulang County, Upper Nile. He joined the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) in 1983, and fought with it against the Sudanese government in the Second Sudanese Civil War. Rising in the ranks, he served as head of the SPLA's commandos, was appointed chief of operations for several SPLA offensives named "Operation Jungle Storm" between 1993 and 1995, and took part in Operation Thunderbolt (1997). By the end of the civil war in 2005, Hoth served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics in the SPLA.[3]
Formally Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, then Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics, he preplaced Oyay Deng Ajak as Chief of General Staff in May 2009. Promoted to lieutenant general in his new position, he was then promoted to full general in July 2010.[4][5] In April 2014 he was sacked by president Salva Kiir Mayardit.[6]
Hoth Mai holds a Master's degree in Public Administration from the University of Fort Hare in South Africa.[4][5]
References
[edit]- ^ "2010 Conference Report: Finding Peace in the Nuer Region of South Sudan through dialogue" (PDF). Monash University, Australia. p. 9. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
- ^ "SPLA advancing on Bor: 'We have no ceasefire'". radiotamazuj.org. January 2, 2014. Archived from the original on January 7, 2014. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
- ^ "Kiir appoints new army Chief of Staff, relieves deputies". Sudan Tribune. 1 June 2009. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
- ^ a b "Kiir appoints new army Chief of Staff, relieves deputies". Sudan Tribune. June 1, 2009. Archived from the original on January 7, 2014. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
- ^ a b "SPLA Chief-of-Staff James Hoth Mai: "We are going to have a separate country"". The New Sudan Vision. January 19, 2011. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
- ^ "South Sudan President Salva Kiir sacks army chief". BBC. 24 April 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2014.