Momodu Koroma (born 1956 in Yonibana, Tonkolili District, British Sierra Leone) is a Sierra Leonean politician. He is a former Minister of Foreign Affairs and a member of the Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP). He became foreign minister in May 2002, as part of a new cabinet appointed following President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah's re-election earlier in the month. Koroma had previously been Minister of Presidential Affairs. Koroma was born in the small town of Yonibana in the Tonkolili District, his father was from the Temne ethnic group, while his mother came from the Mende ethnic group. It is very rare in Sierra Leone to see inter-ethnic marriages between Sierra Leone's two largest ethnic group the Temne and Mende. [1]
On 2 July 2007, he was named as the vice-presidential candidate of the ruling Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) in the August 2007 election. He was the running mate of SLPP presidential candidate Solomon Berewa. [2] The SLPP was defeated by the All People's Congress (APC) in the election.
Sierra Leone first became inhabited by indigenous African peoples at least 2,500 years ago. The Limba were the first tribe known to inhabit Sierra Leone. The dense tropical rainforest partially isolated the region from other West African cultures, and it became a refuge for peoples escaping violence and jihads. Sierra Leone was named by Portuguese explorer Pedro de Sintra, who mapped the region in 1462. The Freetown estuary provided a good natural harbour for ships to shelter and replenish drinking water, and gained more international attention as coastal and trans-Atlantic trade supplanted trans-Saharan trade.
The Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) is one of the two major political parties in Sierra Leone, along with its main political rival the All People's Congress (APC). It has been the ruling party in Sierra Leone since 4 April 2018. The SLPP dominated Sierra Leone's politics from its foundation in 1951 to 1967, when it lost the 1967 parliamentary election to the APC, led by Siaka Stevens. Originally a centre-right, conservative party, it identifies since 2012 as a centre-left social democratic party, with a centrist tendency.
The All People's Congress (APC) is one of the two major political parties in Sierra Leone, the other being its main political rival the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP). The APC has been the main opposition party in Sierra Leone since 4 April 2018 when Julius Maada Bio of the SLPP won the 2018 presidential elections, though it maintains a majority in parliament.
Julius Maada Wonie Bio is a Sierra Leonean politician who has served as president of Sierra Leone since 4 April 2018. He is a retired brigadier in the Sierra Leone Army and was the military head of state of Sierra Leone from 16 January 1996 to 29 March 1996, in a military junta government known as the National Provisional Ruling Council (NPRC).
Moyamba District is a district in the Southern Province of Sierra Leone, with a population of 318,064 in the 2015 census. Its capital and largest city is Moyamba. The other major towns include Njala, Rotifunk and Shenge. The district is the largest in the Southern Province by geographical area, occupying a total area of 6,902 km2 (2,665 sq mi) and comprises fourteen chiefdoms.
Charles Francis Kondo Margai is a Sierra Leonean politician and constitutional lawyer who served as Attorney General and Minister of Justice of Sierra Leone in 2018.
John Albert Musselman Karefa-Smart was a Sierra Leonean politician, medical doctor and university professor. He served as the first Foreign Minister under Sierra Leone's first Prime Minister, Sir Milton Margai. He was an ordained Elder of the United Methodist Church.
Ernest Bai Koroma is a Sierra Leonean politician who served as the fourth President of Sierra Leone from 17 September 2007 to 4 April 2018.
Kono District is a district in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone. Its capital and largest city is Koidu Town. Motema is the second most populous city in the district. The other major towns in the district include Yengema, Tombodu, Jaiama Nimikor and Sewafe. The district is the largest diamond producer in Sierra Leone. The population of Kono District is 505,767. Kono District borders Kenema District to the southwest, The Republic of Guinea to the east, Koinadugu District to the northeast and Kailahun District to the southeast. Kono District is divided into fourteen chiefdoms.
Kailahun District is a district in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone. Its capital and largest city is the town of Kailahun. The second most populous city in the district is Segbwema. Other major towns in Kailahun District include Koindu, Pendembu and Daru. As of the 2015 census, the district had a population of 525,372. Kailahun District is subdivided into fourteen chiefdoms.
Kenema District is a district in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone. Its capital and largest city is Kenema, which is the third most populous city in Sierra Leone, after Freetown and Bo. Tongo is the second most populous city in the district. Other major towns in Kenema District include Blama and Yomboma. The district is the most populous district in the Eastern province with a population 609,873. Kenema District has an area of 6,053 km2 (2,337 sq mi) and comprises sixteen chiefdoms.
General elections were held in Sierra Leone on 11 August 2007. Seven candidates competed in the first round of the presidential election; no candidate received the necessary 55% of the vote to win in the first round, and a second round was held between the top two candidates, Ernest Bai Koroma of the All People's Congress (APC) and Solomon Berewa of the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP), on 8 September. According to official results, Koroma won the election with 54.6% of the vote.
Soccoh Kabia is a Sierra Leonean politician and physician who served as the Minister of Health, Minister of Social Welfare, Gender and Children's Affairs, and Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources of Sierra Leone from 2007 to 2013.
Alhaji Shekuba Saccoh is a Sierra Leonean diplomat and the current Sierra Leone's ambassador to Guinea. He was appointed to the position by president Ahmad Tejan Kabbah. He is a member of the Mandingo.
Bernadette Lahai, CRSL is a Sierra Leonean politician and the current Minority Leader of Parliament of Sierra Leone. She is the leader of the main opposition Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) in the Sierra Leone House of Parliament. She currently represent Constituency 13 from Kenema District in the Sierra Leone House of Parliament.
Alhaji Minkailu Mansaray is a Sierra Leonean politician, businessman, who was former Sierra Leone minister of mines and mineral resources. He is also the deputy leader of the All People's Congress (APC) party.
In April 1961, Sierra Leone became politically independent of Great Britain. It retained a parliamentary system of government and was a member of the British Commonwealth of Nations. The Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP), led by Sir Milton Margai were victorious in the first general election under universal adult franchise in May 1962. Upon Sir Milton's death in 1964, his half-brother, Sir Albert Margai, succeeded him as Prime Minister. Sir Albert attempted to establish a one-party state had the ready cooperation of the opposition All People' Congress but met fierce resistance from some cadre within his party Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) and ultimately abandoned the idea.
Alhaji Alpha Sahid Bakar Kanu is a Sierra Leonean politician and the current Sierra Leone minister of Presidential and Public Affairs. He is also the official spokesman of the All People's Congress (APC) political party, a position he has held even before the APC came to power. In January 2012, Kanu was chosen by Sierra Leone president Ernest Bai Koroma to serve as Minister of Information and Communication in Koroma's new second term cabinet.
Alhaji Moijueh Emmanuel Kaikai is a Sierra Leonean politician and the Sierra Leone Minister of Social Welfare, Gender and Children's Affairs since 2013. He had previously served as the resident Minister of the Southern Province, and Deputy Minister of Labour.
General elections were held in Sierra Leone on 7 March 2018 to elect the President, Parliament and local councils. Incumbent President Ernest Bai Koroma did not run for another term, as he was constitutionally ineligible, having served the maximum ten years in office.