Samura Kamara
| Samura Kamara | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Sierra Leone Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 2012 | |
| Preceded by | Joseph Bandabla Dauda |
| Sierra Leone Minister of Finance | |
| In office 2009–2012 | |
| Preceded by | David Carew |
| Succeeded by | Kaifala Marah |
| Governor of the Bank of Sierra Leone | |
| In office 2007–2009 | |
| Preceded by | James Rogers |
| Succeeded by | Sheku Sambadeen Sesay |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Samura Mathew Wilson Kamara 15 December 1963 Kamalo, Bombali District, Sierra Leone |
| Nationality | Sierra Leonean |
| Political party | All People's Congress (APC) |
| Residence | Freetown, Sierra Leone, |
| Alma mater | Fourah Bay College |
| Profession | economist |
| Religion | Christianity |
Samura Mathew Wilson Kamara (December 15, 1963 in Kamalo, Bombali District) is a Sierra Leonean economist and the current foreign minister of Sierra Leone .
A natve of Kamalo, Bombali District, Samura Kamara spent some time as financial seceraty in the Sierra Leone ministry of finance during then Sierra Leone's president Ahmad Tejan Kabbah's administration . He was the governor of the Bank of Sierra Leone from 2007 until March 2009, when he was appointed by president Ernest Bai Koroma as Finance Minister. In December 2012, he became the minister of foreign affairs. Samura Kamara is a member of the Limba ethnic group.
Early life
Samura Kamara was born in the village of Kamalo, Bombali District in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone to ethnic Limba parents.[1]
career
Kamara served from at least autumn 2005 as Financial Secretary at Sierra Leone's ministry of finance.[2] He left the post some time before 2007 to work as an executive for the International Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C.[3] He was in December 2007 appointed governor of Sierra Leone's central bank, a decision which local papers reported had the backing of Sierra Leone's international donors and supporters of the Bretton Woods system.[4] In late February 2009 Kamara was appointed, by Prime Minister Ernest Koroma, to succeed David Carew as Sierra Leone's finance minister.[5] Kamara dismissed suggestions that his new role represented a demotion.[6] He forecast that, as the country endured the late-2000s global recession, Sierra Leone would experience a contraction in economic growth during 2009 to 5.5-6%, down from 7-7.5% the previous year. He also, however, projected slowing inflation, and the country's foreign reserve holdings remained within limits set by its major donor, the IMF.[7]
References
- ↑ Kandeh, Mariama (10 September 2008). "Sierra Leone: Amidst Hard Work, Poverty Still Rules Country's Interior". Concord Times (Freetown). Retrieved 22 June 2009.
- ↑ Munu, Abu Bakarr (Oct 26, 2007). "Sierra Leone Government now on full PRSP". Awareness Times. Retrieved 22 June 2009.
- ↑ "Sierra Leone's Bank Governor to be sacked by new President". Awareness Times. 16 October 2007. Retrieved 22 June 2009.
- ↑ Fofana, Sorie (7 December 2007). "Welcoming the new Bank Governor of Sierra Leone". Awareness Times.
- ↑ "Koroma names new finance minister". iol.co.za. 28 February 2009. Retrieved 22 June 2009.
- ↑ Pratt, Regina (12 March 2009). "Sierra Leone: Ex-Bank Governor Dismisses Demotion Claims". Concord Times (Freetown). Retrieved 22 June 2009.
- ↑ Woollcombe, Alexander (4 March 2009). "INTERVIEW-Mining slump seen cutting S.Leone 2009 growth". Reuters. Retrieved 22 June 2009.