Sheikh Omar Faye

Sheikh Omar Faye
Gambian Ambassador to the United States
In office 3 August 2015 – 19 December 2016
President	Yahya Jammeh
Preceded by	Neneh Macdouall-Gaye
Succeeded by	Ebraima Manneh
Minister of Youth, Sports and Religious Affairs
In office June 2006 – September 2007
President	Yahya Jammeh
Preceded by	Musa Mohammed
Personal details
Born	(1960-01-10) 10 January 1960 Banjul, the Gambia
Military service
Allegiance	The Gambia
Service/branch	Gambian Army
Years of service	1983–1994
Rank	Major

Sheikh Omar Faye (born 10 January 1960) is a Gambian diplomat and former athlete who served as the Gambian Ambassador to the United States from 2015 to 2016.

Early life and education

Faye was born on 10 January 1960 in Banjul, the Gambia, to Ajaratou Ramatoulie Tambedou and Alhagi Tijan Faye. His grandfather, also named Sheikh Omar Faye, was an Islamic scholar who was involved in Gambian politics in the early days of the country. The younger Faye attended Windley primary school in Half-Die, and Crab Island Junior Secondary School. He then attended St Augustine's High School on a sports scholarship, graduating in 1979. At St Augustine's, he competed in football, basketball, volleyball, rugby, and track.^[1]

Career

Athlete

Faye began his career as an athlete and held the Gambian records in the 100m and 200m sprint for some time. He represented the Gambia internationally, including at the 1984 Olympic Games where he was the team captain. At the Games, he competed in the 100m and 200m races, as well as the 4 × 100 metres relay.^[2] He also played rugby for the Gambian national team at this time. Concurrently, from 1981 to 1983, he worked as a tutor at the Muslim High School in Banjul.^[1]

Military service

Faye joined the Gambian National Army in 1983 and became an officer cadet that year. In 1984, he was sent to Royal Military Academy Sandhurst to train for two years. Later in his army career, he also trained at the United States Army Command and General Staff College. Part of his service was spent as part of a peacekeeping force in Liberia. He left the army in 1994, and was in Atlanta, Georgia, at the time of Yahya Jammeh's coup. He worked as a security supervisor and utility line locator in the United States until 2005, when he returned to the Gambia.^[1]

Politics and diplomacy

Upon returning to the Gambia, Faye was appointed as Director of Information in the office of President Jammeh. He was appointed as Minister of Youth, Sports and Religious Affairs in 2006, and remained in that post until 2007 when he was sent to Mauritania as the deputy chief of mission at the Gambian embassy there. He remained in Mauritania until 2014, when he was sent to the Gambian embassy in Washington, D.C. He formally became the chargé d'affaires on 1 April 2014, and officially became the ambassador after presenting his credentials to President Barack Obama on 3 August 2015.^[1][3] On 19 December, he was recalled to the Gambia. This came after calling for Jammeh to step down following Adama Barrow's victory in the 2016 presidential election.^[4]

References