Ahmad Tejan Kabbah

Ahmad Tejan Kabbah (born February 16, 1932) is the President of Sierra Leone (1996-1997, 1998 - present). He worked for the United Nations Development Programme, and returned to Sierra Leone in 1992. He was elected president in 1996. Most of his time in office was marked by a bloody civil war with the Revolutionary United Front, led by Foday Sankoh, which involved him being temporarily ousted by the military Armed Forces Revolutionary Council from May 1997 to March 1998 He was soon returned to power after a military intervention by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Another phase of the civil war led to United Nations and British involvement in the country in 2000. The civil war was officially declared over in early 2002, and Kabbah went on to win yet another term in office in the presidential election later that year.

Background

Birth

President Kabbah was born in Pendembu, Kailahun District, in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone, on 16 February 1932. His family, educational and religious backgrounds reflect the diversity and high level of tolerance that generally characterize the people of his West African homeland.

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Youth and Education

An ethnic Mandinka, Kabbah was born of Muslim parentage and a devout Muslim himself. He received his secondary education at St. Edward's, the oldest catholic secondary school in the country. He also married a Catholic, the late Patricia Kabbah, nee Tucker, who hailed from the Southern Province. He received his higher education at the Cardiff College of Technology and Commerce, and University of Wales, Aberystwyth, Wales, in the United Kingdom, with a Bachelor's degree in Economics in 1959. He later studied law, and in 1969 he became a practicing Barrister-at-Law, member of the Honourable Society of Gray?s Inn, London.

Related Topics:
Mandinka - Muslim - Catholic - Technology - Commerce - University of Wales, Aberystwyth - Wales - United Kingdom - Bachelor's degree - Economics - 1959

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