Sia Nyama Koroma (born on 19 March 1958 in,

Kono District Kono District is a district in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone. Its capital and largest city is Koidu, Koidu Town. Motema is the second most populous city in the district. The other major towns in the district include Yengema, Tombodu, J ...

British Sierra Leone The Colony and Protectorate of Sierra Leone (informally British Sierra Leone) was the British colonial administration in Sierra Leone from 1808 to 1961, part of the British Empire from the abolitionism era until the decolonisation era. The Crow ...

) is

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 ...

an biochemist and psychiatric nurse. She served as

First Lady of Sierra Leone The title First Lady of Sierra Leone is held by the female spouse of the president of Sierra Leone. The first lady is a representative of the people of Sierra Leone at home and abroad. The Office of the First Lady is an extension of State House an ...

from 17 September 2007 - 4 April 2018. She is the wife of

Ernest Bai Koroma Ernest Bai Koroma (born 2 October 1953) is a Sierra Leonean politician who served as the fourth President of Sierra Leone from 17 September 2007 to 4 April 2018. Born and raised in Makeni in northern Sierra Leone, Koroma spent more than 24 ...

, the 4th

President of Sierra Leone The president of the Republic of Sierra Leone is the head of state and the head of government of Sierra Leone, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. As the head of the executive branch of the Sierra Leone government, the presi ...

. Koroma was a pioneer in her role as First Lady, established the Office of the First Lady to undertake development initiatives. She focused on projects for Sierra Leonean women and children. She is the founder of the Women's Initiative for Safer Health (WISH) project which focuses on improving reproductive health for women.

Early life and education

Koroma was born on 19 March 1958 in Kono District in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone. She is the daughter of Danke Koroma, a

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

teacher, and

Abu Aiah Koroma Abu Aiah Koroma (26 November 1928 – 6 March 2005) was a lawyer and politician in 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 ...

, a lawyer and the former Attorney General of Sierra Leone. She is a member of the Kono ethnic group. During her childhood, her father worked as the Managing Director of the National Diamond Mining Company (NDMC) before entering into politics. He served as Minister of Natural Resources and later as Minister of Political and Parliamentary Affairs. Her father was also a presidential candidate in the 1996 General Election. Koroma spent her early years at various primary schools around Sierra Leone as her father was being posted from one place to another. She attended the oldest secondary school for girls in West Africa, the Annie Walsh Memorial Secondary School in Freetown, and completed her undergraduate degree in Biochemistry and a Master of Science degree in Synthetic Organic Chemistry in the United Kingdom. During the 1997 interregnum in Sierra Leone, she left the country for the United Kingdom where she studied nursing at Kings College University in London and later became a Fellow of the West African College of Nursing. From 1984 to 1992 she worked as Chief Chemist at the Sierra Leone Petroleum Refinery Company, where her work included routine quality control monitoring of petroleum products in the country and sub-region.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Koroma, Sia 1958 births Living people Alumni of King's College London Annie Walsh Memorial School alumni First Ladies of Sierra Leone Fourah Bay College alumni Sierra Leonean Christians People from Kono District