Harry Varney Gboto-Nambi Sherman (born 16 February 1953) is a Liberian politician and the former chairman of the Unity Party.

Early life

Sherman was born on February 16, 1953, in

Robertsport Robertsport is a town in western Liberia, about 10 miles (16 km) from the Sierra Leone border. It is named after Joseph Jenkins Roberts, the first president of Liberia. The town lies on Cape Mount peninsula, a spit of land separating the bracki ...

, Grand Cape Mount County and graduated from St. John's Episcopal High School in 1971. He continued his education at

Cuttington University Cuttington University is a private university in Suacoco, Liberia. Founded in 1889 as Cuttington College by the Episcopal Church of the United States (ECUSA), it is the oldest private, coeducational, four-year, degree-granting institution in sub- ...

where he earned a degree in 1975. In 1979, he was awarded a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Ch ...

at the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law at 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 ...

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 th ...

. Sherman completed his education in 1982 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 territori ...

where he earned a

Master of Law A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

at Harvard Law School. In 2003, Cuttington University of Liberia conferred on him the honorary LLD. degree in recognition of his philanthropy, especially his personal financial and material support for higher education in Liberia.

Early career

In 1980, Sherman joined the law firm of Maxwell & Maxwell as an associate, serving both as a consulting attorney and a trial lawyer during the very tumultuous period, which followed the

1980 Liberian coup d'état The 1980 Liberian coup d'état happened on April 12, 1980, when President William Tolbert was overthrown and murdered in a violent coup. The coup was staged by an indigenous Liberian faction of the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) under the comman ...

. Although Sherman was a recent graduate from Harvard Law School, he was entrusted to manage the legal affairs of the firm's corporate clients including Citibank, Chase Manhattan Bank, Tradevco Bank, and BCCI, along with engineering and construction companies Vianini, Leminkainen OY, Societa Lavori Porto Della Torre and Buccimazza Industrial Works.

Politics

By 1997, in the aftermath of the First Liberian Civil War, Sherman had begun to speak prominently on political matters. A prominent Monrovia lawyer and a partner in the law firm of Sherman and Sherman, he garnered front-page newspaper coverage for a speech to the Liberian Business Association denouncing the government for what he saw as non-enforcement of a hiring policy meant to favor Liberian citizens and businesses. Running as the standard bearer of the four-party Coalition for the Transformation of Liberia (COTOL) in the 11 October 2005

presidential elections A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pr ...

, Sherman placed fifth out of 22 candidates, receiving 7.8% of the vote. He then endorsed

George Weah George Tawlon Manneh Oppong Ousman Weah (; born 1 October 1966) is a Liberian politician and former professional footballer who is the incumbent president of Liberia, in office since 2018. Prior to his election to the presidency, Weah served as ...

for the run-off election. Following the merger of his

Liberian Action Party The Liberian Action Party was a political party in Liberia. In the country's 1985 elections, LAP candidate Jackson Doe was the leading challenger to incumbent Head of State Samuel Doe. Official results showed that Samuel received a narrow majori ...

into the Unity Party in 2009, Sherman was chosen to become the national chairman of the party. During the 2014 mid term Senatorial Elections, Sherman was elected Senator for Grand Cape Mount County. He won 61.7% of votes, outwitting incumbent Abel Massaley and 9 others. Despite this result, an electoral complaint filed by rival candidates delayed the admission of Sherman to the Senate when winners of the 2014 elections were certificated on January 5, 2015. However, Sherman and another delayed senator, Bomi County's Morris Saytumah were certificated on February 16, 2017, following a decision by the Supreme Court.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sherman, Varney 1953 births Living people University of Liberia alumni Harvard Law School alumni Cuttington University alumni Candidates for President of Liberia Liberian Action Party politicians People from Grand Cape Mount County Members of the Senate of Liberia 21st-century Liberian politicians