Etweda Ambavi Gbenyon Cooper, known as Sugars, is a Liberian politician and peace activist. She has been described as "the doyenne" and "the godmother" of the Liberian women's movement. In 2010, she was elected mayor of Edina, Liberia. She then served as superintendent of

Grand Bassa County Grand Bassa is a county in the west-central portion of the West African nation of Liberia. One of 15 counties that comprise the first-level of administrative division in the nation, it has eight districts. Buchanan serves as the capital with ...

from 2012 to 2015.

Early life and education

Etweda Cooper was born in Edina, into an elite family descended from freed slaves who left the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

for

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

in the 1800s. She grew up speaking Bassa and

Liberian English Liberian English refers to the varieties of English spoken in Liberia. There are four such varieties: * Standard Liberian English , the Liberian variety of International English. It is the language taught in secondary and tertiary institutions ...

. Cooper is known across the country by her nickname, Sugars. She left Liberia as a young woman to attend university in

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

Activism

First Liberian Civil War

After returning to Liberia, Cooper became involved in the peace movement in 1994. As a co-founder and onetime chair of the Liberian Women’s Initiative, she served as a key figure in women's peace activism during the first Liberian civil war. In 1998, Cooper was briefly arrested by the Liberia National Police after denouncing the murder of a woman at the hands of security forces.

Second Liberian Civil War and aftermath

As a part of

Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace is a peace movement started in 2003 by women in Monrovia, Liberia, Africa, that worked to end the Second Liberian Civil War. Organized by Crystal Roh Gawding and social workers Leymah Gbowee and Comfort Free ...

in the early 2000s, she played a major role in the nonviolent resistance campaign that led to the end of Liberia's second civil war. Cooper has also been involved in the Women in Peacebuilding Network (WIPNET), part of the

West Africa Network for Peacebuilding The West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP) is a leading Regional Peacebuilding organisation founded in 1998 in response to civil wars that plagued West Africa in the 1990s. Over the years, WANEP has succeeded in establishing strong national n ...

. After the second civil war ended, she helped organize women in favor of

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (born Ellen Eugenia Johnson, 29 October 1938) is a Liberian politician who served as the 24th president of Liberia from 2006 to 2018. Sirleaf was the first elected female head of state in Africa. Sirleaf was born in Monro ...

's 2005 presidential campaign, in which Sirleaf was elected the first female president of an African country. Cooper appears in the documentary ''

Pray the Devil Back to Hell ''Pray the Devil Back to Hell'' is a 2008 American documentary film directed by Gini Reticker and produced by Abigail Disney. The film premiered at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival, where it won the award for Best Documentary. The film had its thea ...

'' about women's role in the Liberian peace process. In 2006, she became the first-ever recipient of the 1325 Award from the Dutch government.

Political career

In April 2010, Cooper was elected mayor of her hometown,

Edina EDINA is a centre for digital expertise, based at the University of Edinburgh as a division of the Information Services Group. Services EDINA front-end services (those accessed directly by the user) are available free at the point of use for ...

, which she aimed to turn into an eco-friendly, safe town that attracts tourists. In 2012, she was appointed superintendent of

by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and confirmed by the Liberian Senate. On her appointment, she became mayor emeritus of Edina. Her time in office included overseeing the county's response to the

Western African Ebola virus epidemic The 2013–2016 epidemic of Ebola virus disease, centered in Western Africa, was the most widespread outbreak of the disease in history. It caused major loss of life and socioeconomic disruption in the region, mainly in Guinea, Liberia and S ...

. Later in her term, Cooper became chairperson of Liberia's Superintendent Council. She resigned as the county's superintendent in 2015, citing a "personal reason." In 2017, she ran to represent Grand Bassa in the

Liberian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the bicameral legislative branch of Liberia, and together with the Senate comprises the Legislature of Liberia. The number of seats is fixed by law at 73, with each county being apportioned ...

, as a member of the

True Whig Party The True Whig Party (TWP), also known as the Liberian Whig Party (LWP), is the oldest List of political parties in Liberia, political party in Liberia and one of the oldest parties in Africa. Founded in 1869 by primarily darker-skinned Americo-L ...

, but she was not elected.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Etweda Living people 21st-century Liberian women politicians Liberian women activists Liberian women's rights activists Liberian anti-war activists African women in war Liberian pacifists Women's rights in Africa Year of birth missing (living people) People from Grand Bassa County 21st-century Liberian politicians