Elizabeth Ya Eli Harding (born 23 March 1956) was the
High Commissioner of The Gambia to the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
from 2007 to 2013, then the first Ambassador of The Gambia to the United Kingdom from 2013 to 2017, when she was replaced by
Francis Blain.
Early life
Harding was born on 23 March 1956, and educated at high school in
Banjul, followed by sponsorship from the Commonwealth to attend a diplomatic program in French, and then studies in Scotland and Canada.
She earned a master's degree from
Glasgow Caledonian University
Glasgow Caledonian University ( gd, Oilthigh Chailleannach Ghlaschu, ), informally GCU, Caledonian or Caley, is a public university in Glasgow, Scotland. It was formed in 1993 by the merger of The Queen's College, Glasgow (founded in 1875) and G ...
.
Career
Harding had been the Gambian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 20 August 2007 to 2013.
From 2013, Mrs. Harding was the Ambassador to the United Kingdom, until she was recalled in 2017. She has since been replaced by
Francis Blain.
In December 2014, a "gang of Gambian diplomats" were found guilty at
Southwark Crown Court
The Crown Court at Southwark, commonly but inaccurately called Southwark Crown Court, is one of two locations of the Crown Court in the London SE1 postcode area, along with the Crown Court at Inner London.
Opened in 1983, the brick building is ...
of running a "tax-free tobacconist" from embassy premises in London for three years, and avoiding £5 million of tax.
Seven people including the Deputy Head of the Gambian Diplomatic Mission, Yusupha Bojang, were found guilty.
They had ordered 32 tonnes of tax-free rolling tobacco, and abused a scheme that provided a duty-free tax exemption on goods for personal use, even though none of them actually smoked.
Harding appeared at the hearing, but was not a defendant, and said that she had used the scheme to buy perfume and rice, but had never talked about it with her staff, and only became aware of the abuse of diplomatic privilege after she was written to by the UK's
Foreign & Commonwealth Office
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' ministries of foreign affairs, it was created on 2 September 2020 through the merger of the Foreig ...
.
In December 2016, 11 ambassadors including Harding wrote a collective letter to The Gambia's then President,
Yahya Jammeh, who had lost the 1 December election, but was refusing to accept defeat, to accept the result and stand down peacefully. In January 2017, Jammeh dismissed 12 ambassadors including Harding.
In February 2017, Gambia's new President,
Adama Barrow
Adama Barrow ( ff, 𞤀𞥄𞤣𞤢𞤥𞤢 𞤄𞤢𞥄𞤪𞤮, Aadama Baaro, born 15 February 1965) is a Gambian politician and real estate developer who has served as President of the Gambia since 2017.
Born in Mankamang Kunda, a village ...
, reinstated the dismissed ambassadors.
Honours
Harding is a Member of the
Order of the Republic of The Gambia.
Personal life
Harding is married, with four children.
See also
*
Gambian ambassador to the United Kingdom
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harding, Elizabeth Ya Eli
Living people
High Commissioners of the Gambia to the United Kingdom
Alumni of Glasgow Caledonian University
Gambian women diplomats
Gambian women ambassadors
1956 births