Abdulai Osman Conteh (born 5 August 1945) is a lawyer and politician from

Sierra Leone 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 , Sierr ...

. He is a former vice president of Sierra Leone, who served under President

Joseph Saidu Momoh Major General Joseph Saidu Momoh, OOR, OBE (January 26, 1937 – August 3, 2003) served as President of Sierra Leone from November 1985 to 29 April 1992. Early life and education Joseph Saidu Momoh was born on January 26, 1937, in Binkolo, B ...

before he was ousted by the military junta in 1992. Conteh later spent a considerable number of years in

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

, where he served as the country's chief justice before returning to Sierra Leone.

Early life and education

Dr Conteh was born on 5 August 1945 in the village of Rogbere, Gbinleh Dixon Chiefdom in

Kambia District Kambia District is a district in the North West Province of Sierra Leone. Its capital and largest city is the town of Kambia (Sierra Leone), Kambia. As of the 2015 census, The District had a population of 343,686. Kambia District borders the Rep ...

British Sierra Leone The Colony and Protectorate of Sierra Leone (informally British Sierra Leone) was the British colonial administration in Sierra Leone from 1808 to 1961, part of the British Empire from the abolitionism era until the decolonisation era. The Crow ...

. He is from Sierra Leone's Susu ethnic group, which is predominantly based in the north-eastern part of the country - especially Kambia. Conteh was raised mostly in Freetown; he attended Albert Academy and later Fourah Bay College before travelling to the UK for further studies. Dr Conteh has the following educational qualifications: Ph.D., (International Law), 1974,

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the city ...

; LLB (Hons): 1971,

; LLM: 1971, London University, United Kingdom; LLB (Hons): 1969,

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

; Barrister at Law: Called to the Bar of England and Wales, 1970, at Lincoln's Inn, London, United Kingdom; Harold Porter Prize man In Land Law, 1968. He returned home in the early 1970s and worked for the SL Law Officers Department. Dr. Conteh later went into private practice and taught law at Fourah Bay College for several years.

Political career in Sierra Leone

Dr Conteh was a member of the All Peoples Congress (APC) party. His public service in Sierra Leone has included holding the offices of

Minister of Foreign Affairs 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 ...

(1977–1984);

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

(1984–1985); Attorney-General and Minister of Justice (1987–1991) and First Vice-president and Minister of Rural Development (1991–1992). He served as a member of Parliament from Kambia District (his paternal home district) from 1977 to 1992. In late 2007, Conteh was nominated as a candidate to become

Chairperson of the African Union Commission The Chairperson of the African Union Commission is the head of the African Union Commission. On January 30, 2017, it was announced that Chad's Moussa Faki would become the further chairperson. History List See also *Chairperson of the African ...

in early 2008, but he was not successful, with

Jean Ping Jean Ping (; born 24 November 1942 in Omboué)UN profile page
Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...

being elected.

Chief Justice of Belize (2000–2010)

In January 2000, Conteh became the Chief Justice of the Belize Supreme Court. In 2007 and 2010, Conteh authored two decisions affirming the

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...

doctrine of aboriginal title and the existence of

Maya Maya may refer to: Civilizations * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Maya language, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (Ethiopia), a popul ...

customary land tenure Customary land is land which is owned by indigenous communities and administered in accordance with their customs, as opposed to statutory tenure usually introduced during the colonial periods. Common ownership is one form of customary land owner ...

in the

Toledo District Toledo District is the southernmost district in Belize, and Punta Gorda is the District capital. It is the second most developed region in the country (according to the Human Development Index (HDI)). The district has a diverse topography whic ...

of Belize. Only the villages of Conejo and Santa Cruz were parties to the 2008 ruling; however, the 2010 ruling was the result of a

representative action A class action, also known as a class-action lawsuit, class suit, or representative action, is a type of lawsuit where one of the parties is a group of people who are represented collectively by a member or members of that group. The class action ...

on behalf of all the Maya communities. The ruling voided all government leases, concessions, grants, and contracts adverse to the Maya tenure. The "landmark victory" is predicted to have "far-reaching implications" for "logging, mining, and petroleum concessions in what the Maya community claims is over 500,000 acres of ancestral homeland."''Belize News''. 29 June 2010.
CJ rules for Maya; implications “huge”
" The government appealed the decision to the

Caribbean Court of Justice The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ; nl, Caribisch Hof van Justitie; french: Cour Caribéenne de Justice) is the judicial institution of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Established in 2005, it is based in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. ...

, where on the eve of the hearing it conceded all of Justice Conteh's original holdings. The CCJ later awarded the Maya damages for violation of their constitutional right to have their property legally protected. Conteh turned 65 on 5 August 2010, forcing him to retire since his contract was not renewed by Prime Minister

Dean Barrow Dean Oliver Barrow, SC PC (born March 2, 1951) is a politician from Belize who served as prime minister of Belize from 2008 until 2020 and as leader of Belize's United Democratic Party. An attorney by profession, Barrow served as Belize's ...

.Oscar Ramjeet. 19 July 2010.
Controversy over retirement of Belize's chief justice
." Barrow's decision not to offer Conteh a renewal was condemned by the Belize Bar Association in a resolution criticising the "unseemly manner in which the tenure of the chief justice has been treated by the government of Belize." His retirement became a "national political issue because the Chief Justice is popular with the masses of the Belizean people, and is regarded by many as fair-minded and fearless. Several of his landmark rulings particularly on constitutional issues are considered "anti-government" and "anti-establishment," and many were made even under the former Musa administration."

Other Judicial Appointments

In December 2008, Dr. Conteh was appointed as a Justice of the Court of Appeal of the

Cayman Islands The Cayman Islands () is a self-governing British Overseas Territory—the largest by population in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are located to the ...

. In 2010, he was appointed to the Court of Appeal of the Bahamas, where he served until November, 2015.

Personal life

Dr. Conteh is married to Radia Labi Conteh and they have 6 children.

References

External links

belizelaw.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conteh, Abdulai 1945 births Living people Vice-presidents of Sierra Leone Alumni of King's College London Alumni of King's College, Cambridge Members of Lincoln's Inn Chief justices of Belize Foreign Ministers of Sierra Leone 20th-century Sierra Leonean lawyers Sierra Leonean judges on the courts of the Bahamas Sierra Leonean judges on the courts of Belize Sierra Leonean judges on the courts of the Cayman Islands Susu people Attorneys-general of Sierra Leone Finance ministers of Sierra Leone Government ministers of Sierra Leone People from Port Loko District People from Freetown 21st-century Sierra Leonean judges