| Dr. John Karefa Smart | |
|---|---|
| 1st Foreign Minister of Sierra Leone | |
| In office April 27, 1961 – April 28, 1964 |
|
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Preceded by | Position Created |
| Succeeded by | Cyril B. Rogers-Wright |
| Personal details | |
| Born | June 17, 1915 Rotifunk, Moyamba District, Sierra Leone |
| Died | August 26, 2010 (aged 95) Freetown |
| Nationality | Sierra Leonean |
| Political party | United National People's Party (UNPP) |
| Spouse(s) | Rena Karefa-Smart |
| Religion | Christianity (Methodist) |
Dr. John Albert Musselman Karefa-Smart (June 17, 1915 – August 26, 2010) was a politician from Sierra Leone and leader of the United National People's Party. He was an ordained Elder of the United Methodist Church.
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An ethnic Sherbro, Karefa-Smart was educated at the E.U.B. Primary School, in Moyamba District and the Albert Academy in Freetown. He received his B.A. from Fourah Bay College in Freetown in 1936. Four years later in 1940, he received his B.S. from Otterbein College in Westerville, Ohio, United States in 1940. From Otterbein, he went to McGill University in Montreal, where he received his M.D. and C.M. in 1944 and Diploma in Tropical Medicine in 1945. Finally, in 1948, he received his M.P.H. from Harvard University in Boston.
Karefa-Smart has also been a fellow or professor at many colleges and universities across the world, including Bunumbu Union Teachers Training College in Sierra Leone (1936–38), University of Ibadan in Nigeria (1949–52), and several American universities such as Xavier University of Louisiana (1953), Columbia University (1964–65), Harvard University (1971–81), Boston University (1972–77), Wellesley College (1974), and Howard University (1980–83).
Karefa-Smart's political career began with his election to Parliament in 1957. From 1957 to 1964, Karefa-Smart was a Member of Parliament for Tonkolili District. He also served as Minister of Lands, Mines, & Labor; Defense; and as Minister of Foreign Affairs (1961–1964). During that time period, he also served occasionally as acting Prime Minister. From 1965 until 1970, he was Assistant Director-General of the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. In 1996, he returned to Sierra Leonean politics as a member of parliament and presidential candidate. Karefa-Smart lost the 1996 and 2002 presidential elections to Ahmad Tejan Kabbah.
It was initially reported on 12 June 2006 that Karefa-Smart had been replaced as leader of the UNPP at a party convention; however, Karefa-Smart subsequently refuted this claim and called the convention null and void.[1]
Karefa-Smart was living in the U.S. state of Connecticut when he was given a month to live and admitted to a hospice. In late July 2010, the Sierra Leonean government flew Karefa-Smart back to Freetown, where he died on August 26, 2010.[2]
| Preceded by none |
Foreign Minister of Sierra Leone 1961–1964 |
Succeeded by Cyril B. Rogers Wright |
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