Liberian diplomat, Dr. Conteh, appointed Acting President of University of Liberia

Ambassador Dr. AI-Hassan Conteh, Liberian Ambassador to Nigeria, is the acting President of the University of Liberia.

Liberia’s President Joseph Nyuma Boakai has appointed celebrated diplomat and academic, Ambassador Dr. Al-Hassan Conteh, as acting president for the University of Liberia (UL), Monrovia, the country’s premier academic institute. Dr. Conteh is expected to bring his administrative expertise to the handling of the institution’s affairs.

Conteh’s appointment follows weeks of tension and stalemate amongst various leadership components of the University of Liberia, which finally led to the removal of the former president of the institution, Dr. Julius Sarwolo Nelson Jr.

The action came amid dissensions by faculty associations and student union against Nelson, with calls for him to resign or be removed. As mediations to resolve the issues failed, President Boakai approved the removal of Nelson, and the appointment of Conteh, who was a former UL president between 2004 and 2008, as interim head until Nelson’s replacement is sought and found.

Ambassador Conteh is also Ambassador of Liberia to Nigeria, with concurrent accreditation to the Republic of Benin and Equatorial Guinea, and Liberia’s Permanent Representative to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). He is one of the longest serving foreign diplomatic representatives in Nigeria, serving as Liberian ambassador to the country for almost 15 years and establishing himself as one of the most respected in diplomatic circles within the country.

Ambassador Conteh’s outstanding academic sojourn would undoubtedly be a major factor in his selection for the post. He holds a Ph.D. degree in Regional Science and Demography from the University of Pennsylvania, a Master of Arts degree in Demography from the University of Pennsylvania, a Master of Philosophy degree in Demography from the United Nations Cairo Demographic Centre, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography and Demography from the University of Liberia.

He holds the Doctor of Humane Letters (Honoris Causa) in International Relations, conferred on him by the University of Liberia in December 2015 for his role in the re-development of the university. In 2019, the University of California, Sacramento, named him as a member of the International Advisory Board of the Africa Peace Fellows (APF) of its Center for African Peace and Conflict Resolution (CAPCR).

He is also Grand Commander, Order of the Star of Africa. Conferred by the government of Liberia, in July 2005, after he delivered the National Oration on the 158th Independence Anniversary of the Republic of Liberia.

Ambassador Conteh was a United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Fellow at the Cairo Demographic Centre in Cairo, Egypt, between 1978 and 1980 and a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania between 1983 and 1987.

Dr. Conteh describes himself as an ardent subscriber to peace, democracy, patriotism, and the promotion of sustainable human development.