Alieu Badara Njie (17 October 1904 – 21 April 1982) was a Gambian statesman who served as the 3rd

Vice-President of the Gambia The vice president of the Republic of The Gambia is the second highest political position in the Gambia. The office was created in April 1970, with the passing of the republican Constitution of the Gambia following the republic referendum. The ...

from 1977 to 1981. He served as the first Gambian Ambassador to Senegal and in

Dawda Jawara Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara (16 May 1924 – 27 August 2019) was a Gambian politician who served as Prime Minister from 1962 to 1970, and then as the first President of the Gambia from 1970 to 1994. Jawara was born in Barajally, MacCarthy Island ...

's first cabinet. He held several ministerial roles under Jawara and played a key role in securing Gambian independence. He was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1965–1967 and 1974–77, Minister of Communications from 1960–1961 and 1963–1965, Minister of Works from 1962–1965, Minister of Information from 1970–1971, and Minister of Agriculture from 1972–1974.

Early life

He was born into a

Wolof Wolof or Wollof may refer to: * Wolof people, an ethnic group found in Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania * Wolof language, a language spoken in Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania * The Wolof or Jolof Empire, a medieval West African successor of the Mal ...

family in Bathurst (now

Banjul Banjul (,"Banjul"
(US) and ), officially the City of Ba ...

). Njie attended the

Methodist Boys' High School Methodist Boys High School, Lagos (MBHS Lagos) is a secondary school for boys located in Victoria Island, Lagos. Nigeria. Founded in 1878, it was the second secondary school established in Nigeria. History The leaders of the Methodist community, ...

(1922–25) before entering the civil service in 1925.

Career

Njie worked in the civil service until his retirement in 1958 as the registrar of the

Supreme Court of the Gambia The Supreme Court of the Gambia is a superior court of record and the highest court in The Gambia. Established in 1851, it has appellate and original jurisdiction over any law exceeding the powers conferred by the Constitution or any law upon th ...

. He was first elected to the Bathurst Town Council in 1949 as an independent for the Jollof/Portuguese Town ward and, in 1960, was selected to contest the seat for the Democratic Congress Alliance (DCA) in the first parliamentary election. He won the same seat in the 1962 election. He transferred to Northern

Kombo Kombo was a kingdom and later a chieftaincy in Gambia during the colonial period. Kombo was part of the Mali Empire and gained independence after its fall, and was then ruled by the Sambou Bainunka clan. Mansa Karapha Yalli Jatta became the fi ...

for the 1966 election and all subsequent ones up to 1977. Following the merger of the DCA and the People's Progressive Party (PPP) in 1965, he contested these later elections for the PPP. After the 1960 election, Njie was appointed Minister of Communications by Governor Edward Windley, but resigned in March 1961 when P.S. Njie was selected as chief minister. Following the 1962 election, he was appointed minister of works in D.K. Jawara's first cabinet; communications was added to this portfolio in 1963. At independence in 1965, he was appointed Minister of State for External Affairs and first ever

Resident Minister A resident minister, or resident for short, is a government official required to take up permanent residence in another country. A representative of his government, he officially has diplomatic functions which are often seen as a form of indir ...

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...

(Jawara initially retained the foreign policy portfolio for himself). In April 1967, he again became Minister for External Affairs, but was replaced by Andrew Camara in January 1968. Following a period of out of the cabinet, he was appointed Minister of Information in 1970 and, in 1971, he became Minister of State in the President's Office. In 1972, he became Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources, before returning to External Affairs in July 1974, a post he held until the 1977 election. After the election, he was made Vice President in 1977 (a largely ceremonial post). He resigned as a minister in August 1978. Before the 1982 election he voluntarily retired as a

member of parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for Northern Kombo, supporting and garnering support for Nyimasata Sanneh-Bojang. He was persuaded to lead the PPP election campaign, until he was killed in a French Government-owned helicopter crash on 21 April 1982.

Titles

Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) (1955) * The Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) *

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

(JP)

References

External links

* 1904 births 1982 deaths Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Members of the Order of the British Empire Victims of helicopter accidents or incidents Gambian politicians Vice-presidents of the Gambia {{Gambia-bio-stub