Zainab Hawa Bangura

Minister of Foreign Affairs & Intl. Cooperation

Date of Birth: 18/12/1959
Place of Birth: Yonibana, Tonkolili District

Married to Sheki Bangura with one son.

Education: BSc Political Science and History, Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone, Sierra Leone, 1983.

Career: Founder, Campaign for Good Governance; Founder and Leader, Movement for Change Political Party, 2002; Chief of Civil Affairs, United Nations Mission, Liberia, 2005-07; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Government of Sierra Leone, 2007-present.

Commentary: A civil society activist, Zainab Bangura has been vocal in campaigning for women's rights and fighting against corruption throughout her career. In 1994 she set up the country’s first women’s rights group, Women Organized for a Morally Enlightened Nation (W.O.M.E.N). Also in 1996 she was one of many who demanded that the National Provisional Ruling Council (NPRC)- the group that took over in a military coup in 1992- relinquish power to an elected parliament. After four years of running the country they stood down. When she ran in the 2002 presidential elections she came across a stumbling block in her views on female genital mutilation. Although she expressed that she was not against it completely and would prefer that amendments were made such age restrictions on the procedure, those that opposed felt she was challenging an aspect of Sierra Leonean cultural heritage.