Sadiq Al-Mahdi began his career in politics at the Ministry of Finance of Sudan. He was elected president of the Umma party in November 1964. He led a campaign to promote political activity, develop political Islam and reform the party by expanding its base and promoting democracratic behavior.Following the coup in 1969, Al-Mahdi was arrested by the military government,exiled to Egypt and detained in Sudanese prisons repeatedly until 1974. From 1984 onwards, he led the opposition that drove the revolution of April 1985. He won the general elections for the Prime Minister of Sudan in 1986, a position he retained until the government was overthrown in 1989. After being imprisoned, Al-Mahdi went into exile to lead the opposition in 1996, but returned to Sudan in 2000. In 2002, he was elected Imam of Al-Ansar and in 2003, he was re-elected President of Umma.