George Klay Kieh Jr. (born 2 March 1956) is a

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 ...

n educator and independent politician, and an avid admirer of former U.S. President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

Early life

Kieh was born in

Harbel Harbel is a town in Margibi County, Liberia. It lies along the Farmington River, about 15 miles upstream from the Atlantic Ocean.

, Firestone on March 2, 1956. He attended the

University of Liberia The University of Liberia (UL or LU in older versions of abbreviation) is a publicly funded institution of higher learning located in Monrovia, Liberia. Authorized by the national government in 1851, the university opened in 1862 as Liberia Coll ...

where he was granted a bachelor of arts degree in political science. Kieh continued his education in 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 ...

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

where he earned a master's degree and Ph.D. in political science.

Political career

Running as the NDM presidential candidate in the 11 October 2005

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operate ...

alongside

Alaric Tokpa Alaric Kormu Tokpa is a Liberian politician and political scientist. He ran alongside George Klay Kieh in the New Deal Movement and, as a pair, received 0.5% of the vote in the 11 October 2005 presidential election. Tokpa has been pursuing a Ph.D. ...

and placed 17th out of 22 candidates, receiving 0.5% of the vote. Kieh worked at

Grand Valley State University Grand Valley State University (GVSU, GV, or Grand Valley) is a public university in Allendale, Michigan. It was established in 1960 as Grand Valley State College. Its main campus is situated on approximately west of Grand Rapids. The universit ...

Allendale, Michigan Allendale is a census-designated place (CDP) in Ottawa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 17,579 at the 2010 census. It is located within Allendale Charter Township, occupying approximately the northern two-thirds of th ...

as a Professor of Political Science, following his unsuccessful bid for President of Liberia. Previous to this, he taught at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, for many years. He served as the Dean of the Political Science Department prior to his unsuccessful bid for President in Liberia. Upon returning to GVSU, he specialized in developing countries, conflict, and African Politics. He has just been named Dean of Arts and Sciences at the

University of West Georgia The University of West Georgia is a public university in Carrollton, Georgia. The university offers a satellite campus in Newnan, Georgia, select classes at its Douglasville Center, and off-campus Museum Studies classes at the Atlanta History Ce ...

Carrollton, Georgia Carrollton, Georgia is a city in the northwest region of Georgia, about 45 miles (72 km) west of Atlanta near the Alabama state line. It is the county seat of Carroll County, which is included in the Atlanta Metropolitan Area. Historically, ...

, to begin July 1, 2009. He succeeds Interim Dean Dr. Don Rice, who succeeded Dean Dr. David White, who succeeded Interim Dean Dr. Pauline Gagnon, who succeeded Dean Dr. Richard Miller.

References

1956 births Living people University of Liberia alumni Northwestern University alumni Candidates for President of Liberia New Deal Movement politicians {{Liberia-politician-stub