Ismail al-Azhari (Arabic: إسماعيل الأزهري, romanized: ʼIsmāʻīl al-Azharī; October 20, 1900 – August 26, 1969) was a Sudanese nationalist and political figure.

In 1954 he was elected prime minister from within the parliament and under the influence of the growing sense of the need for independence of Sudan and before the union discussion with Egypt.

Al-Azhari and other educated Sudanese demanded greater participation in the administration of the country, and to promote their objectives they formed the Graduates' General Congress in 1938.

When the more moderate nationalists formed the Umma Party in 1945, its principal support came from the chief rival of the Khatmiyya, the anti-Egyptian Mahdist sect.

Between 1944 and 1953 al-Azhari, as the leading advocate for uniting the Sudan with Egypt, fought tenaciously against any act which appeared to weaken the "unity of the Nile Valley".

It soon became clear that the Sudanese people did not want to be tied closely to Egypt, and in his greatest act of statesmanship al-Azhari dramatically reversed the position which he had long advocated and, with the support of the principal political leaders, declared Sudan independent on January 1, 1956.

The third problem which confronted al-Azhari's government was the uniting of the black, non-Muslim southern Sudanese with peoples and traditions very different if not opposed to the Arab, Muslim north.

More importantly, the fragile alliance between the Khatmiyya sect and the NUP began to disintegrate, leaving the prime minister without the popular support he needed to rule effectively.

As a result, he reformed his coalition into a "government of all talents" in February 1956, but then his former Khatmiyya supporters deserted to form the People's Democratic Party in June.

Al-Azhari opposed the government led by Abdullah Khalil, who replaced him, and also the succeeding military regime of Ibrahim Abboud.

Al-Azhari sought to regain power, but without a strong political base even his skill as a politician was insufficient to lead a government in Sudan.