Dr. Prince Alex Harding (born in

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 ...

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 ...

). Harding was the Political minister, Minister of Safety and Security from February 2001 to May 2002, when he became the Minister of Transport and Communications. He was also the secretary general 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 ...

. Harding was suspended from his post on 5 June 2007.

Excellence Award

On 5 May 2007, Harding was given an "award of excellence" by the "Bookish Klan of the

Milton Margai Sir Milton Augustus Strieby Margai (7 December 1895 – 28 April 1964) was a Sierra Leonean medical doctor and politician who served as the country's head of government from 1954 until his death in 1964. He was titled chief minister from 1954 ...

College of Education and Technology, Goderich Campus, for his "immense contribution to National Development" particularly in his capacity as Minister of Transport and Communication during which tenure Sierra Leone has witnessed "an impact growth" in telecommunications"

2007 helicopter crash

:''See 2007 Paramount Airlines helicopter crash for main article'' On 3 June 2007, a helicopter owned by Paramount Airlines crashed at

Lungi International Airport Freetown International Airport (officially), locally known as Lungi International Airport, is an international airport located in the coastal town of Lungi, Sierra Leone. It is the only international airport in Sierra Leone. The Sierra Leone Ri ...

outside of

, killing 22 people, including the

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

Minister of Sport,

Richard Attipoe Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'strong ...

. The 22 people were returning from a football match in

where

beat

1–0 in African Cup of Nations qualifiers. Harding, as the Minister of Transport and Communications, was held responsible for the crash and was suspended pending a governmental investigation.

Sources

Minister suspended over air crash

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

, 5 June 2007
Dr. Harding Gets Excellence Award in Sierra Leone
Awareness Times, 8 May 2007 Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Sierra Leone Creole people People from Bo, Sierra Leone Sierra Leone People's Party politicians Government ministers of Sierra Leone {{SierraLeone-politician-stub