Henry Boimah Fahnbulleh
Encyclopedia
Henry Boimah Fahnbulleh is a Liberia
n politician and diplomat. He is the Liberian Government's current National Security Advisor in the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf administration. Immediately previous to his appointment as National Security Advisor, he served as Advisor on International Affairs in the same government. He served as Foreign Minister
from 1981 to 1983 under President Samuel Doe
.
Fahnbulleh's father, H. Boima Fahnbulleh, Sr. was also prominent in Liberian society; in Fahnbulleh Jr's words, Fahnbulleh Sr was 'killed while striving for socio-economic justice.' Assuming inferred cross-referencing is correct, Fahnbulleh Sr was serving as the Liberian ambassador to East Africa, when in 1968, he 'was arrested, tried and convicted on a trumped-up treason charge in which the government sponsored demonstrations and newspapers editorials that condemned him. However, President Tolbert later granted him executive clemency in 1971.'
Fahnbullah was educated in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Kenya, and the United States. He graduated from Fourah Bay College
in Sierra Leone having studied politics, philosophy, and history. He gained his graduate degree in politics from Howard University
in Washington and his doctorate from George Washington University
in political philosophy and international politics.
He has lectured at the University of Liberia
and also served as Minister of Education and of Foreign Affairs in the Tolbert and Doe Liberian governments from 1978 to 1983. He was a 'prominent' member of the Liberian NGO Movement for Justice in Africa
in the 1970s. He lived in exile in Europe, spending some time in London, from 1983 to 1990 and from 1997 to the early 2000s. In Ghana in 1986, Fahnbulleh was creating his own opposition group to President Doe, named the Front for Popular Democracy
in Liberia. Charles Taylor claimed that because he did not join the MOJA/FPDL grouping in Accra, Fahnbulleh arranged his arrest by Ghanaian security forces. The FPDL has apparently been extinct since 1990. Fahnbulleh was still in Accra in 1987. Fahnbulleh has written and lectured extensively on Liberian politics, editing the book Voices of Protest: Liberia on the Edge 1974-1980, published by Universal Publishers in 2005.
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
n politician and diplomat. He is the Liberian Government's current National Security Advisor in the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf administration. Immediately previous to his appointment as National Security Advisor, he served as Advisor on International Affairs in the same government. He served as Foreign Minister
Foreign minister
A Minister of Foreign Affairs, or foreign minister, is a cabinet minister who helps form the foreign policy of a sovereign state. The foreign minister is often regarded as the most senior ministerial position below that of the head of government . It is often granted to the deputy prime minister in...
from 1981 to 1983 under President Samuel Doe
Samuel Doe
Samuel Kanyon Doe was the 21st President of Liberia, serving from 1986 until his assassination in 1990. He had previously served as Chairman of the People's Redemption Council from 1980 to 1986. He was the first indigenous head of state in Liberian history.Doe was a part of a rural tribe in inland...
.
Fahnbulleh's father, H. Boima Fahnbulleh, Sr. was also prominent in Liberian society; in Fahnbulleh Jr's words, Fahnbulleh Sr was 'killed while striving for socio-economic justice.' Assuming inferred cross-referencing is correct, Fahnbulleh Sr was serving as the Liberian ambassador to East Africa, when in 1968, he 'was arrested, tried and convicted on a trumped-up treason charge in which the government sponsored demonstrations and newspapers editorials that condemned him. However, President Tolbert later granted him executive clemency in 1971.'
Fahnbullah was educated in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Kenya, and the United States. He graduated from Fourah Bay College
Fourah Bay College
Fourah Bay College is the oldest university college in West Africa. It is located atop Mount Aureol in Freetown, Sierra Leone...
in Sierra Leone having studied politics, philosophy, and history. He gained his graduate degree in politics from Howard University
Howard University
Howard University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university located in Washington, D.C., United States...
in Washington and his doctorate from George Washington University
George Washington University
The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
in political philosophy and international politics.
He has lectured at the University of Liberia
University of Liberia
The University of Liberia is a publicly funded institution of higher learning located in Monrovia, Liberia. Authorized by the national government in 1851, the school opened in 1863 as Liberia College and became a university in 1951. The school is one of the oldest institutions of higher learning...
and also served as Minister of Education and of Foreign Affairs in the Tolbert and Doe Liberian governments from 1978 to 1983. He was a 'prominent' member of the Liberian NGO Movement for Justice in Africa
Movement for Justice in Africa
Movement for Justice in Africa is a leftist pan-African political organization that is mostly active in Liberia, with chapters in Ghana and The Gambia. It was founded in 1973 by Togba Nah Tipoteh, who is to this day its president...
in the 1970s. He lived in exile in Europe, spending some time in London, from 1983 to 1990 and from 1997 to the early 2000s. In Ghana in 1986, Fahnbulleh was creating his own opposition group to President Doe, named the Front for Popular Democracy
Popular democracy
Popular democracy is a notion of direct democracy based on referendums and other devices of empowerment and concretization of popular will. The concept evolved out of the political philosophy of Populism, as a fully democratic version of this popular empowerment ideology, but since it has become...
in Liberia. Charles Taylor claimed that because he did not join the MOJA/FPDL grouping in Accra, Fahnbulleh arranged his arrest by Ghanaian security forces. The FPDL has apparently been extinct since 1990. Fahnbulleh was still in Accra in 1987. Fahnbulleh has written and lectured extensively on Liberian politics, editing the book Voices of Protest: Liberia on the Edge 1974-1980, published by Universal Publishers in 2005.