Abass Chernor Bundu (born 1948 in Gbinti,

Port Loko District Port Loko District is a Districts of Sierra Leone, district in the North West Province, Sierra Leone, North West Province of Sierra Leone. It is the most populous District in the North and the second most populous District in Sierra Leone, after t ...

) is a

Sierra Leonean Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

politician, diplomat, and the current Speaker of the Parliament of Sierra Leone, Sierra Leone House of Parliament, in office since April 25, 201

. Bundu was elected speaker by receiving 70 votes in Parliament. The main opposition the

All People's Congress The All People's Congress (APC) is one of the two major political parties in Sierra Leone, the other being its main political rival the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP). The APC has been the main opposition party in Sierra Leone since 4 Apr ...

, which won the most seats in Parliament,

boycotted A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict som ...

the election process in protest and did not nominate a candidate for speake

http://www.africanews.com/2018/04/25/opposition-walks-out-as-sierra-leone-elects-speaker-of-parliament

. Bundu is a veteran politician, and a very close ally and personal friend of Sierra Leone"s president

Julius Maada Bio Julius Maada Wonie Bio (born 12 May 1964) is a Sierra Leonean politician, and the current president of Sierra Leone since 4 April 2018. He is a retired brigadier general in the Sierra Leone Army and was the military head of state of Sierra Leo ...

Before being elected speaker, Bundu was the northern regional chairman of the

Sierra Leone People's Party The Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) is one of the two major political parties in Sierra Leone, along with its main political rival the All People's Congress (APC). It has been the ruling party in Sierra Leone since April 4, 2018. The SLPP do ...

(SLPP). He is one of the most senior and one of the most influential members of the ruling Sierra Leone People's Party Bundu is the older brother of

Ibrahim Bundu Ibrahim Rassin Bundu is a Sierra Leonean politician and the current majority leader of the Sierra Leone Parliament. Bundu was previously the minority whip and deputy majority leader of parliament. He is a prominent and senior member of the All P ...

, a member of Parliament of the main opposition

. From 1989 to 1993, Bundu was the executive secretary of the

Economic Community of West African States The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS; also known as in French and Portuguese) is a regional political union, political and economic union of fifteen countries located in West Africa. Collectively, these countries comprise an ...

. Bundu was the head of several ministries in Sierra Leone, including Foreign Affairs and Agriculture. He was the presidential candidate of the now defunct Progressive People's Party (PPP) in the 1996 Sierra Leone presidential election, where he was defeated in the first round of voting after winning 2.9% of the votes. Bundu holds a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

degree from the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

and both a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

and a PhD in International Law from the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Early life

Abass Chernor Bundu was born in the rural town of Gbinti,

in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. Bundu was born into a prominent Bundu Family who are of

Fula Fula may refer to: *Fula people (or Fulani, Fulɓe) *Fula language (or Pulaar, Fulfulde, Fulani) **The Fula variety known as the Pulaar language **The Fula variety known as the Pular language **The Fula variety known as Maasina Fulfulde *Al-Fula ...

and Temne descents. Abass Bundu grew up in a deeply religious

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

household and he is a devout Muslim.

Education

Bundu attended the St. Andrews Secondary School in Bo, the Methodist Boys' High School in

Freetown Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and p ...

and the St. Edward's Secondary School also in Freetown. While in secondary school, Bundu was a very brilliant student and he was highly admired by his fellow students and teachers. Immediately after secondary school, Bundu left Sierra Leone as a youth and moved abroad to further his education. He holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the Australian National University and both a Master of Laws and a PhD in International Law from the University of Cambridge, England. He is also a Barrister-at-Law.

Career

Bundu's numerous positions include Assistant Director of International Affairs and Consultant in Constitutional Law in the Commonwealth Secretariat in London from 1975–82; Executive Secretary of

(ECOWAS) from 1989–1993, the posts of

Foreign Minister A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

(

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

–

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

), Minister of Agriculture 1982–85; and Presidential candidate in the 1996 Presidential election in Sierra Leone. Bundu failed to garner much support in the election, gaining just under 30,000 votes or 2.9% of the national vote. He is an expert on West African affairs and a renowned expert on constitutional and international law. Bundu has written a critical analysis of the Civil War in Sierra Leone, Democracy by Force?

Opposition to President Momoh

In 1991, Dr. Bundu strongly criticised President Joseph Saidu Momoh's government because of clauses their party wished to add to Sierra Leone's constitution. He was then forced to leave the All People's Congress (APC). Dr. Bundu contested the 1996 elections as not democratically free and fair.

Presidential campaign

In 1996, Bundu formed his own political party and ran for president in Sierra Leone. His bid was unsuccessful.

Alleged corruption and exoneration

In 1996 Bundu was prosecuted for alleged illegal sale of Sierra Leone passports under the immigration investment programme. In October 2005 Government of Sierra Leone dropped the prosecution and publicly exonerated Bundu of any wrongdoing based on new evidence which, had it been available in 1996, would not have given rise to any prosecution.

References

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20140528005444/http://politicosl.com/2012/04/like-abass-bundu-like-lilian-lisk/ *https://web.archive.org/web/20131102014131/http://news.sl/drwebsite/publish/article_200523995.shtml *https://web.archive.org/web/20140527214324/http://news.sl/drwebsite/exec/view.cgi?archive=2&num=1030&printer=1
Democracy by Force?: A study of international military intervention in the conflict in Sierra Leone from 1991–2000
by Abass Bundu *https://web.archive.org/web/20140528010414/http://news.sl/drwebsite/exec/view.cgi?archive=2&num=1123 {{DEFAULTSORT:Bundu, Abass Living people 1948 births Speakers of the Parliament of Sierra Leone Foreign Ministers of Sierra Leone Sierra Leonean writers Sierra Leonean academics Alumni of St. Edward's Secondary School, Freetown Executive Secretaries of the Economic Community of West African States Temne people People from Port Loko District Sierra Leonean diplomats Sierra Leonean Fula people Sierra Leonean Muslims