biography
| name: |
Momoh, Joseph Saidu
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| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1937– )
|
| biography:
| Sierra Leonese soldier, politician, and president (1985–92) of Sierra Leone, born in Binkolo, Sierra Leone. He was trained at military schools in Ghana, Britain, and Nigeria, before being commissioned in the Sierra Leone army in 1963, rising to army commander with the rank of major-general (1983). In 1985, when the president, Siaka Stevens, announced his retirement, Momoh was endorsed by Sierra Leone's only political party, the All-People's Congress, as the sole presidential candidate. When he took office he disassociated himself from the policies of his predecessor, pledging to fight corruption and improve the economy. He was ousted in a military coup (1992) led by a young army officer, Captain Valentine E M Strasser (1965– ), who was himself ousted in a palace coup in 1998. |
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