The Republican Palace in Khartoum (, ) is the official residence and work place of the President of Sudan. It is a complex which consists of the Old Republican Palace, which was built in 1830, and the New Republican Palace, which was built in 2015. The Republican Palace has historical and cultural significance in Sudan. The palace is not open to the public. A museum is located behind the complex.

The Republican Palace is a political symbol in Sudan. It is featured in Sudanese postage stamps and banknotes. The palace overlooks the southern Bank of the Blue Nile River, near the confluence of the Blue Nile and White Nile.

The Old Republican Palace was the location of the killing of Charles Gordon, the ruler of British Sudan, during the Turco-Egyptian colonisation of Sudan at the hands of the supporters of the Mahdist revolution. The palace was also the location of the first celebration of Sudan's independence from the Anglo-Egyptian colonisation and the lowering of the flags of the colonial administration and the raising of the flag of the Sudanese Republic in January 1956.

Location The Republican Palace complex can be found on the south side of the Blue Nile river. It is bordered to the north by Nile Street, to the south by University Avenue, to the east by Abusin Street, and to the west by the Street of Mihera Bint Abboud. The city planners of Khartoum intended for the Republican Palace to serve as a way to divide the city into two parts, with government buildings and offices, commercial institutions, and other important institutions built around it.

History Sudan fell under the rule of Turkish-Egyptian colonisation in 1821 after Muhammad Ali Pasha seized control. Egypt governed Sudan during this period, with a governor known as the Hakimadar ruling the region. The capital of Sudan was moved from Funj Sennar (1504–1821) to Wad Medani during the reign of Hakimadar Osman Bey Jarkas (September 1824 to May 1825). He made Khartoum his seat of power and gradually shifted the state's offices from Wad Madani to Khartoum. Khartoum eventually became the capital of Sudan in 1830, marking the final transition of power.

Hakimadaria Palace (Saraya al-Hikmadar) During the reign of Hakimadar Mahu Bey Urfali (May 1825 to March 1826), the first mud-built Palace was constructed in a rectangular as the main office for the administration of Sudan. The palace was situated on the southern bank of the Blue Nile, at a distance of under one kilometer from the intersection of the White and Blue Niles. It was named Saray al-Hakimadaria or Hakimadaria Palace, and the Hakimadar's residence was located there. Al-Saraya is a word of Persian origin, meaning castle or palace. It was used extensively during the Ottoman Empire (in Turkish, Seray), with the same meaning.معنى كلمة سرايا في معجم المعاني الجامع والمعجم الوسيط - معجم عربي عربي - صفحة 1

In 1834, during the rule of Hakimadar Ali Khurshid Pasha (March 1826 to June 1838), some improvements and additions were made to the Hakimadaria palace, and the province's building was established. The offices and interests of the State Administration were transferred to it, and Hakimadaria Palace remained the Hakimadar's residence.

In 1851, during the reign of Hakimadar Abd al-Latif Pasha (1849 to January 1851), the mud Hakimadaria Palace was destroyed and rebuilt using bricks. The bricks were carried from two different sources: the remnants of the ancient city of Soba, which was the capital of the ancient Kingdom of Alodia, and certain structures in Abu Haraz located on the eastern bank of the Blue Nile. The new palace consisted of two flats, made of stones from the outside, and had a separate pavilion for male and female visitors. It was surrounded by gardens with various types of trees such as palm trees and grapes. The Hakimadaria Palace remained the Hakimadar's seat until the Mahdist revolution.

The palace consists of three parts: a ground part topped by two floors: the first floor and the second floor. Later, the offices of Al-Hakamdar (governor-general) were moved to the second floor inside the palace, while the ground floor was allocated to the offices of Al-Hakamdar's assistants and his secretaries, while the first floor remained his residence, and other annex buildings were built to house his entourage outside the palace building. But this division was later changed when Charles Gordon Pasha (18 February 1884 to 26 January 1885), Governor-General of Sudan, decided in 1884 that his residence be on the second floor and that he move his office to the first floor.

After the siege of Khartoum and killing of Hakimadar Charles Gordon in Hakimadaria Palace on 26 January 1885, and during the early days of the Mahdi's state (1885 to 1898), a national governance was established. The Hakimadaria palace building was demolished, and the capital was relocated to Omdurman, the Nile's west bank. The capital and headquarters of the Mahdist state (Caliph House) remained in Omdurman until the Anglo-Egyptian colonisation.

Governor-General's Palace

During the period of Anglo-Egyptian colonisation of Sudan from 1898 to 31 December 1955, Khartoum become the capital of Sudan. The first governor general of Sudan, Herbert Kitchener (19 January 1898 to 22 December 1899), rebuilt the palace in 1899 on the stones of the demolished Hakimadaria Palace. By 1900, a large part of the palace building was completed for the second governor, Reginald Wingate (22 December 1899 to 31 December 1916) to settle in the Palace. The remainder of the palace including the annexes was completed by 1906.

The Palace was built with red bricks and the corners were built with sandstone. The palace buildings were modelled after Victorian architecture, with a clear Middle Eastern touch of arched doors and windows along with Roman and Greek windows, balconies and Mediterranean balconies. The Palace had a three floors including a ground floor with three pavilions: a main pavilion facing the Blue Nile, east and west wings stretching from the main pavilion to the south ones, and the entire construction represented half of a square. The ground floor was allocated to the administration offices, the first floor to the Church of England and the third to the governor-general's office.

After the Directorate building was constructed to the west of the governor's, which is now the Ministry of Finance, the administrative and financial secretary office was repurposed to the General Governor's Palace, which remained the general headquarters and residence of the governor general of Sudan during all periods of the Anglo-Egyptian colonisation. The total area of the palace reached during this period.

(Old) Republican Palace

On 1 January 1956, Sudan gained independence, and the British and Egyptian flags were lowered while the Sudanese flag was raised in the palace staff. The Palace became known as the Republican Palace and served as the official residence for the president of the Republic of Sudan. It also housed the offices of the Sovereignty Council members and the presidency departments. The prime minister had a separate residence and offices in a different location. The palace's second floor was used as a guesthouse for visiting heads of state until 1974. Other sites outside the palace were also used for hospitality. In 1960, a residence was built in the south-western part of the Republican Palace for former president Ibrahim Abboud, who was the only Sudanese head of state to have lived inside the Palace. In 1971, additional buildings were constructed on the south side of the Palace for the Palace's departments, the Republican Guard, and car parking. Other areas of the Palace on the eastern side were added to create the College of the Republican Palace, expanding the Palace's total space to .

People's Palace President Jaafar al-Numeiri, who came to power after the 1969 Sudanese coup d'état, decided to change the name of the Palace to the People's Palace in a speech he delivered to the nation after the failure of the coup that was led against him by Major Hashem al-Atta, given that “the people were the ones who supported Nimeiri”. During the failed coup, Numeiri was detained, later smuggled, and was able to jump the palace's southern wall. However, after the overthrow of Nimeiri's rule by military personnel led by Field Marshal Abdel Rahman Swar al-Dahab, the palace was renamed the Republican Palace.

Archaeological landmark According to the Sudanese Antiquities Law, the old Republican Palace building is considered an archaeological landmark, regardless of the period it was built in, if it is more than 100 years old or has special historical significance. The List of National Antiquities gives it legal protection, preventing its disposal and any modifications or restoration without the authority's supervision. The building is made from archaeological materials from the remnants of the Christian kingdom of Alwa, making it an archaeological building with archaeological materials.

New Republican Palace During the Chinese president Hu Jintao visit to Sudan in 2007, an agreement was reached to build a new presidential palace. After completing technical studies, a contract was signed in 2009 to design the new building, and an execution contract was signed on 25 November 2010. The project commenced in March 2011, and on the night of 26 January 2015, the same day Charles Gordon was killed on the steps of the Old Palace, the new presidential palace was officially inaugurated by President Omar al-Bashir. The flag was raised over the new presidential palace to mark the transfer to the new location.

The director of museums criticized the decision to build a new palace without consulting the Antiquities Authority, which affected the panorama of the historical building and its architectural consistency. The new Arabic style building is completely different from the old palace's English Palladian architecture, and the palace garden, an integral part of the design, was clearly affected.

Sudanese civil war

During the Sudanese civil war (2023–present) on 15 April 2023, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) took control of the Republican Palace.

On 9 May, the RSF accused the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) of carrying out an air strike that destroyed the old palace, which the latter denied. Pictures sent to the BBC by a Khartoum resident appeared to contradict the RSF's claims of the destruction but showed the new palace had been severely damaged by a fire. On 6 August 2023, the SAF launched airstrikes and artillery on the palace. On 12 May 2024, the SAF shelled the old palace, setting fire to parts of the building.

The Sudanese Armed Forces retook control of the palace on 21 March 2025.

Facilities The Republican Palace has historical and cultural significance in Sudan. The palace is not open to the public, but there is a museum located behind it that visitors can explore. The Palace name is given to the main street leading to it from the south, which was formerly known as Victoria Street. The Republican Palace is considered one of the main architectural landmarks in Khartoum, and it overlooks the southern bank of the Blue Nile River, near the confluence of the Blue and White Niles, and in one of the most beautiful triangular streets of the capital. From the southern side, the palace overlooks a small square that bore its name "Palace Square" before it was renamed Martyrs Square.

The Republican Palace complex consists of the New Presidential Palace building, located in an area of , and the Old Presidential Palace building, located in an area of . The complex also includes:

Office of the Head of State