Ernest Bai Koroma.html |
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Ernest Bai Koroma
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 17 September 2007 |
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| Vice President | Samuel Sam-Sumana |
| Preceded by | Ahmad Tejan Kabbah |
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| Born | 2 October 1953 Makeni, Bombali District, Sierra Leone |
| Nationality | Sierra Leonean |
| Political party | All People's Congress (APC) |
| Spouse | Sia Nyama Koroma |
| Children | Alice and Danke Koroma |
| Residence | State House (official) |
| Alma mater | Fourah Bay College |
| Profession | Businessman, politician |
| Religion | Christianity |
| Website | http://www.statehouse-sl.org/ (official government website)
http://www.ernestkoroma.org/ (official website) |
Ernest Bai Koroma (born October 2, 1953) is the fourth and current President of Sierra Leone. He was sworn in as president on 17 September 2007, shortly after being declared the winner of a tense run-off election in the 2007 Sierra Leone Presidential election with 54.6% of the vote over the incumbent vice-president Solomon Berewa of the then ruling Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) who won 45.4% and conceded defeat. International and local observers assessed the election as free, fair and credible [1]. Koroma is the leader of the rulling All People's Congress (APC) and was APC minority leader in parliament from Bombali District prior to becoming President.
In his inauguration speech in front of thousands of cheering supporters at the national stadium in Freetown, Koroma promised zero tolerance on corruption and would not spare even members of his own family should they be caught in corrupt act. He also said he'd fight against the mismanagement of the country's resources and would run Sierra Leone like a business concern", emphasize agriculture and tourism. The inauguration ceremony was attended by several senior government officials, including Nigerian president Umaru Yar'Adua, Liberian president Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Senegalese president Abdoulaye Wade, Gambian president Yahya Jammeh, Burkina Faso's president Blaise Compaoré, Malian president Amadou Toumani Touré, Guinean Prime Minister Lansana Kouyaté and United States Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer
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Youth and Education
Ernest Bai Koroma was born on 2 October 1953, in Makeni, Bombali District in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. Koroma's middle name 'Bai' means leader in his native Temne language. He is the eldest son of seven children. Koroma was born to an ethnic Temne father and to an ethnic Limba mother from the small rural town of Kamabai, Bombali District. Koroma was born of Christian parentage from the predominant Muslim north and a devout Christian himself.
Koroma attended the Sierra Leone Church Primary School in Makeni, and then proceeded to the Government Secondary School for Boys in Magburaka, Tonkolili District. He attended Fourah Bay College in Freetown, from which he graduated in 1976. After graduating, Koroma taught briefly at the St. Francis Secondary School in his hometown of Makeni and then joined the Sierra Leone National Insurance Company in 1978. In 1985, he joined the Reliance Insurance Trust Corporation (Ritcorp), and in 1988, he became Managing Director of Ritcorp, remaining in that position for 14 years.1
Political career
Koroma was elected as the leader of then the main opposition All People's Congress (APC) on March 24, 2002, at a national convention of the party ahead of the 2002 Sierra Leone Presidential and Parliamentary Elections. He was one of seven candidates on the ballot. Koroma received 370 votes from APC delegates, while 12 delegates voted against him and the remainder abstained.2. He received 22.3% of the vote as the APC's candidate in the presidential election, losing to incumbent president Ahmed Tejan Kabbah of the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP), who received about 70%.3 In the parliamentary election, Koroma was elected to a seat from Bombali District.4
Embattled by series of court case against his youthful leadership and executive and the 2002 APC Constitution, Koroma was eventually stripped off his dejure leadership of the APC by the Supreme Court of Sierra Leone on the 22nd June 2005. He was however again unanimously elected as Leader and Presidential Candidate of the APC at a National Delegates Conference in September 2005. The internal party dispute was said to be resolved in April 2007, with Koroma being accepted by APC dissidents as the party's leader ahead of the 2007 Sierra Leone General Elections.56
Under his leadership, the APC swept virtually all the seats in the Western Area and the Northern Province during the Sierra Leone local Government Elections of 2004. This was in spite of the fact that some of the Old Guard of the APC dismissed his leadership as a matter of child’s play.
Presidency
Koroma was the APC presidential candidate in the August 2007 elections. He was allegedly the target of an assassination attempt in the early hours of July 23, 2007, when, according to the APC, a group of armed men led by Tom Nyuma, who was a participant in the 1992 coup that ousted the APC from power, attempted to enter his hotel room in the country's second largest city of Bo to kill him.7 Nyuma was severely beaten by Koroma's guards, and he was hospitalized as a result.8 According to another version of events, however, there was no assassination attempt and the claim was invented to justify the beating of Nyuma.9
In the first round of the 2007 presidential election in Sierra Leone, held on August 11, Koroma garnered 44.3% of the votes, ahead of Solomon Berewa of the ruling SLPP, who received 38.3%. This was not enough to win outright,10 and a run-off election was held on September 8.11
In an interview with Reuters on September 13, Koroma said that he wanted to run the country "like a business concern", emphasize agriculture and tourism rather than mining, and fight firmly against corruption.12
On September 17, the Sierra Leone National Electoral Commission declared Koroma to be the winner of the election with 54.6% of the vote,13 although the SLPP disputed the results.14 He was sworn in later on the same day15 at a ceremony attended by Berewa and Kabbah.16
On September 21, Koroma left Sierra Leone for a diplomatic visit to neighboring Guinea and Liberia, his first trip outside the country as President.17
Koroma has taken a notably long time to name his Cabinet ministers, and has done so in stages.18 The first group of 10 ministers was named on October 8,19 and another 10 were named on October 12.20 According to Koroma, he is willing to take additional time to find the right people;18 others, however, have speculated that the delay is due to maneuvering in the APC for Cabinet positions.1819
Koroma was formally inaugurated in Freetown on November 15, 200721 at a ceremony attended by five other African leaders.22 On this occasion, he promised to fight corruption and emphasized the importance of changing people's attitudes towards corruption.2122
Personal life
Ernest Bai Koroma is married to Sia Koroma, a biochemist and a native of Kono District. Together they have two children, Alice and Danke Koroma.
Cabinet
External links
References
See also
- Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD-IV), 2008.
External links
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