"President Omar al-Bashir, supreme commander of the armed forces, issued a presidential decree appointing Lieutenant General Awad Mohamed Ahmed bin Awaf as the defence minister," SUNA said.
The statement gave no further details.
Awaf was previously head of intelligence for the Sudanese Armed Forces and held a diplomatic post in Oman after retiring from the military several years ago.
Bashir who is wanted for alleged war crimes in the western Darfur region swept April elections with more than 94 percent of the vote, which was boycotted by mainstream opposition parties.