Kadi Sesay (born March 4, 1949) is a

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 ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

, feminist,

pro-democracy Democratization, or democratisation, is the transition to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction. It may be a hybrid regime in transition from an authoritarian regime to a full ...

advocate and the vice presidential candididate 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). She served as Sierra Leone Minister of Trade and Industry from 2002 to 2007. She is the founder and Managing Director of Leone Consulting & Advisory Services – for Trade, Investment and Development. She is the mother of

CNN International CNN International (CNNI, simply branded on-air as CNN) is an international television channel that is owned by CNN Global. CNN International carries news-related programming worldwide; it cooperates with sister network CNN's national and inte ...

news anchor A news presenter – also known as a newsreader, newscaster (short for "news broadcaster"), anchorman or anchorwoman, news anchor or simply an anchor – is a person who presents news during a news program on TV, radio or the Internet. ...

Isha Sesay Isha Isatu Sesay (; ; born 6 January 1976) is a British journalist of Sierra Leonean descent. From 2005 to 2018, she worked as an anchor and correspondent for CNN International. Originally based at CNN's world headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, U ...

Early life and academic career

Kadi Sesay was born on March 4, 1949 in Rotifunk,

Moyamba District Moyamba District is a district in the Southern Province of Sierra Leone, with a population of 318,064 in the 2015 census. Its capital and largest city is Moyamba. The other major towns include Njala, Rotifunk and Shenge. The district is the lar ...

, in Southern

, then a Sierra Leone Colony and Protectorate, British Crown Colony, to parents from the Temne ethnic group from rural chieftaincy town of Rhombe, Lokomasama Chiefdom,

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 Sierra Leone. She received her primary education from the EUB Primary School in Rotifunk, Moyamba District. Sesay graduated from

Fourah Bay College Fourah Bay College is a public university in the neighbourhood of Mount Aureol in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Founded on 18 February 1827, it is the first western-style university built in Sub-Saharan Africa and, furthermore, the first university-l ...

Freetown Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and po ...

in 1973 with a BA (Hons) degree in

English Language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the ...

and

Literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

. In 1974, she earned an MA degree in African literature at the

University of Sheffield , mottoeng = To discover the causes of things , established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions: – Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield , type = Pu ...

in 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 ...

and took her PhD degree in

Applied Linguistics Applied linguistics is an interdisciplinary field which identifies, investigates, and offers solutions to language-related real-life problems. Some of the academic fields related to applied linguistics are education, psychology, communication rese ...

at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

Political career

Sesay was a lecturer at Fourah Bay College for 20 years and became Head of the English Department. She spent 6 years chairperson for the National Commission for Democracy and Human Rights (NCDHR). She is the first woman in Sierra Leonean history to head a national commission. She left this post to serve as Minister of Development and Economic Planning which she did for 3 years. She was the Presidential running mate to Rtd. Brigadier Gen. Julius Madda Bio for the 2012 General Elections. Sesay is the first woman to run for the office of vice-president in the history of Sierra Leone.

Feminism

Sesay has championed local campaigns for more women to participate in politics. She is currently the running mate of the opposition party for the 2012 General Elections.

Private life

Sesay is a widow and the mother of three adult children. She resides in Freetown and has been hailed in the local media as "one of the most beautiful women Sierra Leone ever produced".In 2007, Kadi Sesay as First Lady of Sierra Leone or Kadi Sesay as Vice President of Sierra Leone?: Pictures Tell A Thousand Words
/ref> She is the mother of

news anchor

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sesay, Kadi 1949 births Living people Alumni of St. Edward's Secondary School, Freetown Fourah Bay College alumni Alumni of the University of Sheffield Alumni of the UCL Institute of Education Fourah Bay College faculty Temne people Sierra Leone People's Party politicians Sierra Leonean women academics Sierra Leonean women vice-presidential candidates Government ministers of Sierra Leone People from Moyamba District Women government ministers of Sierra Leone