Amadu Wurie (August 27 1898 – 13 June 1977) was an early

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 ...

an educationist and politician.

Biography

Wurie was born in Gbinti,

Port Loko District Port Loko District is a district in the 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 the Western Area Urban District. As of the 2015 census, Port Lo ...

, in the Northern Province of

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 ...

, the son of a

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 ...

paramount chief A paramount chief is the English-language designation for the highest-level political leader in a regional or local polity or country administered politically with a chief-based system. This term is used occasionally in anthropological and ar ...

. He was educated at the

Bo School The Bo Government Secondary School commonly known as Bo School is a secondary school located on a property in the center of Bo, the second largest city in Sierra Leone. The school was founded in 1906 at the behest of the British colonial govern ...

in Bo, one of the first set of pupils (Admission Number 55) when the school opened in 1906. In 1916, he was in the first class of Sierra Leoneans that passed the British civil service exam and was appointed the assistant headmaster of the Bo School that year. By 1935, Wurie rose to the position of Senior assistant headmaster which allowed him to be the first African to serve even temporarily as the Headmaster. From 1935 to 1955, Wurie served in various locations across the colony, primarily as headmaster and inspector of schools. Upon national independence in 1961, Wurie was elected as an MP under the banner 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 d ...

(SLPP), a party he helped found. He was first appointed Minister of Education and later Minister of Interior, a position he kept until he lost his seat in 1967. He then retired to Mahera in the

and later made a Hajj to

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow ...

. In 1973, Wurie was honoured with an honorary doctorate degree from University of Sierra Leone. Wurie died in June 1977 at the age of 79.

External links

"Sierra Leonean heroes Fifty Great Men and Women Who Helped to Build Our Nation"
Sierra Leonean educators Sierra Leone People's Party politicians 1898 births 1977 deaths Education ministers Interior ministers Government ministers of Sierra Leone Sierra Leonean Fula people People from Port Loko District {{SierraLeone-politician-stub