The Sudanese Socialist Union (abbr. SSU; Al-Ittihad Al-Ishtiraki Al-Sudaniy) was a political party in Sudan. The SSU was the country's sole legal party from 1971 until 1985, when the regime of President Gaafar Nimeiry was overthrown in a military coup. Today the Sudanese Socialist Democratic Union, the successor party to the SSU, exists as a registered political party in Sudan. Until 2018, it was led by Professor Dr. Fatima Abdel Mahmoud, who was Sudan's first female Minister during the Presidency of Gaafar Nimeiry as well as a former member of the National Congress Party. Professor Dr. Fatima Abdel Mahmoud was the first woman to contest the Presidency of Sudan in the 2010 general election. Electoral history Presidential elections National Assembly elections See also 1969 Sudanese coup d'état List of political parties in Sudan References 1971 establishments in Sudan Anti-communist parties Arab nationalism in Sudan Arab socialist political parties Defunct nationalist parties Defunct political parties in Sudan Defunct socialist parties Nasserist political parties Nationalist parties in Africa Parties of one-party systems Political parties disestablished in 1985 Political parties established in 1971 Socialist parties in Sudan