| Joseph Bandabla Dauda | |
|---|---|
| J. B. Dauda in 2011. | |
| Foreign Minister of Sierra Leone | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office December 2010 |
|
| President | Ernest Bai Koroma |
| Deputy | Ebun Jusu |
| Preceded by | Zainab Hawa Bangura |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 24, 1942 Bambawo, Nongowa Chiefdom, Kenema District, Sierra Leone |
| Nationality | Sierra Leonean |
| Political party | All People's Congress (APC) |
| Residence | Freetown, Sierra Leone |
| Alma mater | Fourah Bay College, |
| Religion | Christianity |
Joseph Bandabla Dauda (born 24 December 1942 in Bambawo, Nongowa Chiefdom, Kenema District [1]) widely known as J.B Dauda, is a Sierra Leonean politician and current Foreign minister of Sierra Leone.
Dauda attended Fourah Bay College for undergraduate studies and earned a degree with honors in history from 1964 to 1967. He then moved to King's College London of the University of London from 1968 to 1969, where he also studied history.[1]
From 1972 to 1986, Dauda was engaged in a private legal practice. In the 1986 election, Dauda was elected to Parliament from Kenema, where he served until 1992. From April 1987 to 1988, he was Minister of State in the Office of the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, and from November 1988 to September 1991 he was Minister of Trade. He then served as Second Vice-President, Attorney-General and Minister of Justice from November 1991 to April 1992, at which point the government was overthrown in a military coup led by Valentine Strasser. Dauda returned to politics under President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah in 1999 as the Minister of Rural Development and Local Government, where he remained until June 2002, when he became Minister of Finance.[1]
Dauda sought the leadership of the ruling Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) at its national convention in Makeni on September 3–4, 2005. He took fourth place, with 28 votes, behind Vice-President Solomon Berewa, who won 291 votes, Charles Margai, who won 34 votes, and Julius Maada Bio, who won 33 votes.[2] Shortly afterward, on September 6, he was replaced as Finance Minister by John Oponjo Benjamin.[3]