The Mano River Union (MRU) is an international association initially established between

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 Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast� ...

and

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 ...

by the 3 October 1973 Mano River Declaration. It is named for the

Mano River The Mano River is a river in West Africa. It originates in the Guinea Highlands in Liberia and forms part of the Liberia-Sierra Leone Liberia–Sierra Leone border, border. The districts through which the river flows include the Parrot's Beak ...

which begins in the Guinea highlands and forms a border between Liberia and Sierra Leone. On 25 October 1980,

Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

joined the union. The goal of the Union was to "accelerate the economic growth, social progress and cultural advancement of our two countries ... by active collaboration and mutual assistance in matters of common interest in economic, social, technical, scientific and administrative fields". However, due to internal conflicts within the two original MRU countries (the

Sierra Leone Civil War The Sierra Leone Civil War (1991–2002), or the Sierra Leonean Civil War, was a civil war in Sierra Leone that began on 23 March 1991 when the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), with support from the special forces of Liberian dictator Char ...

991-2002and the First 989-1997and

Second Liberian Civil War The Second Liberian Civil War was a conflict in the West African nation of Liberia lasted from 1999 to 2003. It was preceded by the First Liberian Civil War, which ended in 1996. President Charles Taylor came to power in 1997 after victory in ...

s 999-2003, these objectives could not be achieved. The staff numbered 600 in 1986, but was down to 300 in 1993, then to 120, and 48 in 2000. On 20 May 2004, the Union was reactivated at a summit of the three leaders of the Mano River Union states: Presidents

Lansana Conté Lansana Conté (30 November 1934 – 22 December 2008

of Guinea and

Ahmad Tejan Kabbah Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah (February 16, 1932 – March 13, 2014) was a Sierra Leonean politician who served twice as the 3rd President of Sierra Leone, from 1996 to 1997 and again from 1998 to 2007. An economist and attorney by profession, K ...

of Sierra Leone and Chairman

Gyude Bryant Charles Gyude Bryant (17 January 1949 – 16 April 2014) was a Liberian politician and businessman. He served as the Chairman of the Transitional Government of Liberia from 14 October 2003 to 16 January 2006. The installation of the transitional ...

of Liberia. On 15 May 2008,

Cote d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre ...

agreed to join the union.

Organizational structure

The MRU is run by a secretariat, headed by a Secretary-General. When Secretary-General Habib Diallo was killed in a car crash in 2011, his successor was the first woman to hold that office: Dr Saran Daraba Kaba. The Mano River Union Secretariat is based in

Freetown Freetown is the Capital city, 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, educ ...

, Sierra Leone, with offices in

Conakry Conakry (; ; sus, Kɔnakiri; N’ko: ߞߐߣߊߞߙߌ߫, Fula: ''Konaakiri'' 𞤑𞤮𞤲𞤢𞥄𞤳𞤭𞤪𞤭) is the capital and largest city of Guinea. A port city, it serves as the economic, financial and cultural centre of Guinea. Its p ...

, Guinea and

Monrovia Monrovia () is the capital city of the West African country of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic coast and as of the 2008 census had 1,010,970 residents, home to 29% of Liberia’s total population. As t ...

, Liberia. In April 2016 the Union announced plans to form a Mano River Union Parliament, where legislators from the four member states will work to coordinate national legislation on matters of regional importance. To date this idea has been shelved as the cost and the structure of another parliamentary body whose relevance remains to be appreciated.

Secretaries-General of the MRU

* Dr. Cyril A. Bright, Liberia (1974–1978) * T. Ernest Eastman, Liberia (1978–1983) * Dr. Augustus F. Caine, Liberia (1983–1987) * Dr. Abdoulaye Diallo, Guinea (1988–2005) * Abraham Boure, Guinea (2007–2010) * Habib Diallo, Guinea (2010–2011) * Dr. Hadja Saran Daraba Kaba, Guinea (2011–2017) * Amb. Mrs. Medina A. Wesseh Esq, Liberia (2017–)

References

{{Authority control

Mano River Union The Mano River Union (MRU) is an international association initially established between Liberia and Sierra Leone by the 3 October 1973 Mano River Declaration. It is named for the Mano River which begins in the Guinea highlands and forms a border ...