Alumni and Friends Directory

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Biography

Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth is the head of mission for the Government of Southern Sudan to the United States in Washington D.C.
Mr. Gatkuoth joined the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) in 1984. He was trained by the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) in 1988 in Matu Battalion, where he remained as a soldier until 1991.

In 1993, Mr. Gatkuoth went to Nairobi, Kenya, and continued with the political movement, SPLM. Afterward, he resettled to the United States of America to continue his education, while maintaining his political activities with the SPLM and advocating for a democratic change in Sudan.

Mr. Gatkuoth received a Bachelor of Arts in criminology and criminal justice from the University of Maryland College Park in the United States.

From 1998 to 2002, Mr. Gatkuoth was involved in a political campaign aimed at raising the awareness of the United States government and public about the atrocities committed by the National Islamic Front (NIF) government ruling in Khartoum.

Mr. Gatkuoth continued to advocate for regime change in Sudan, and his efforts were acknowledged by the leadership of the SPLM/A in appointing him as deputy representative and coordinator of the SPLM chapters in North America from 2002 through June 2005.

In June 2005, the late Dr. John Garang de Mabior, former first vice president of the Republic of Sudan, president of the Government of Southern Sudan, the chairman and commander-in-chief of the SPLM/A appointed Mr. Gatkuoth as the SPLM representative to North America. Mr. Gatkuoth served the SPLM in this capacity until September 2009. As a diplomat and advocate for democratic transformation in Sudan, he guided the SPLM chapters across the United States as the SPLM underwent a political transformation from a guerrilla movement to a political party and prepared for democratic elections in 2010 and a referendum in 2011.

In August 2006, Mr. Gatkuoth was appointed by the president of the government of Southern Sudan and first vice president of Sudan H.E. Gen. Salva Kiir Mayardit as the head of mission for the government of South Sudan to the United States.

Mr. Gatkuoth lobbies the U.S. government to support the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and to help with the development of Southern Sudan. In addition, Mr. Gatkuoth lobbies the U.S. government and the international community to end the ongoing genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan, and he strongly supports the deployment of United Nations peacekeepers to Darfur under U.N. Resolution 1706.