Republic of Sudan (1956–1969) in the context of Ismail al-Azhari

The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (Arabic: السودان الإنجليزي المصري as-Sūdān al-Inglīzī al-Maṣrī) was a condominium of the United Kingdom and Egypt between 1899 and 1956, corresponding to the territory of what is now both Sudans and parts of southeastern Libya. Legally, sovereignty and administration were shared between both Egypt and the United Kingdom, but in practice the structure of the condominium ensured effective British control over Sudan, with Egypt having limited local power and influence. In the meantime, Egypt itself fell under increasing British influence. Following the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, Egypt pushed for an end to the condominium, and the independence of Sudan. By agreement between Egypt and the United Kingdom in 1953, Sudan was granted independence as the Republic of the Sudan on 1 January 1956. In 2011, the south of Sudan itself became independent as the Republic of South Sudan.

Muhammad Ali took control of Egypt in 1805, and while he was nominally a vassal of the Ottoman Empire, Egypt under his rule acted as a virtually independent state. Seeking to supplant and ultimately replace the Ottoman Empire as the dominant regional power, Muhammad Ali declared himself Khedive, and expanded Egypt's borders both southwards into Sudan, and eastwards into the Levant and Arabia, the latter at the expense of the Ottoman Empire. Territory in Sudan was annexed by Egypt, and governed as an integral part of the country, with Sudanese granted Egyptian citizenship. Ultimately, the intervention of the Great Powers in support of the Ottoman Empire forced Egypt to return all Levantine and Arabian territory to the Ottomans upon Muhammad Ali's death. However, there was no such impediment to Egypt's southward expansion.

The Republic of Egypt was a state created in 1953 under the rule of Mohammed Naguib following the Egyptian revolution of 1952 in which the Kingdom of Egypt's Muhammad Ali dynasty came to an end. It was superseded in 1958 with the creation of the United Arab Republic.

The territory of the state compromised modern day Egypt as well as the Gaza Strip, governed by the All-Palestine Protectorate. The territory also included modern day Sudan and South Sudan until 1956 when the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan Condominium was abolished, granting the Republic of the Sudan independence.

The First Sudanese Sovereignty Council (26 December 1955–17 November 1958), or Supreme Commission or Commission of Sovereignty, was established in the context of Sudan's struggle for independence and the subsequent transition to self-rule. Sudan, formerly under joint British-Egyptian rule, gained independence on 1 January 1956. The council was formed on 26 December 1955 to oversee the governance of the Republic of Sudan during this transitional period. The members of the council included Abd al-Fattah Muhammad al-Maghribi, al-Dardiri Muhammad Uthman (National Umma Party), Ahmad Muhammad Yasin (National Unionist Party), Ahmad Muhammad Salih (NUP), and Siricio Iro Wani (Southern Liberal Party). The prime minister was Ismail al-Azhari until 5 July 1956 followed by Abdallah Khalil until the 17 November 1958 Sudanese coup d'état.

During its tenure, the council faced several challenges, including the First Sudanese Civil War, which lasted from 1955 to 1972. The conflict erupted shortly before Sudan's independence and continued throughout the council's existence. The civil war was fought primarily between the Sudanese government and southern rebels seeking greater autonomy and resource control. It was resolved through the Addis Ababa Agreement in 1972, which established the Southern Sudan Autonomous Region.