Peter Lam Both

Who is Peter Lam Both?

Peter Lam Both is a high-ranking Sudanese diplomat of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement who is recently appointed as Commissioner for National Relief and Rehabilitation Commission in the National Government of South Sudan on 7 June 2012 by President of the Republic of South Sudan, General Salva Kiir Mayardit. Peter Lam served as State Minister of Information and Communications in Upper Nile State from June 2010-May 2012. He was also appointed as SPLM Deputy Secretary for External Relations on August 28, 2009. He was previously posted to Canada from May 2006- November 2008 as the first official Representative of the SPLM to Canada. He was also acting as the Chief Representative for the newly formed Government of Southern Sudan. He was charged by the SPLM leadership to organize SPLM Chapters in various cities of Canada and to rally the support of the Government of Canada for SPLM and Government of Southern Sudan.

Under extremely difficult conditions, he helped form 14 SPLM Chapters across the country with membership of over 4000. He managed to diplomatically seduce Canada to accept SPLM and work with the Government of Southern Sudan, which finally culminated in the establishment of the Liaison Office for the Government of Southern Sudan in Ottawa in 2008 in accordance with the provisions of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and the Interim Constitution of Southern Sudan. Canada is known internationally for refusing to work with rebels, a case signaled by their refusal to work with the former leader of SPLM Dr. John Garang de Mabior. But those who know Peter Lam Both know that he is a highly persuasive, calm and skillful diplomat whose approach can hardly be rejected. Those qualities helped him succeed with Canada. Peter was one of the key leaders of Sudanese community in Canada who defeated Talisman Energy of Canada. In fact, in 2004, Peter was said to have shut up an extremely arrogant Dr. Jim Buckee, the former CEO of Talisman Energy, who always insisted that Bentiu never had people since independence of Sudan, a point which Peter always took personally being a Nuer himself and knows that Bentiu has the largest Nuer population in Sudan.