Name of leader Sekou Conneh
Organization Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD)
Conflict country Liberia
Gender Male
Year of birth 1960 [1]
Place of birth Gbarnga, Liberia [2]
Year of death N/A
Deceased
No, there is no evidence he has died.
Birth order
His birth order is unknown.
Age at start of rebel leadership
In 1999, so at age 39.[3]
Leader entry method
He was appointed as president.[4]
Powersharing
No, there is no evidence of powersharing.
Education (also name universities attended, if any); note any relevant experiences while a student
“Young Sekou started his primary education at the St. Martin’s Cathedral School in 1966. Following the completion of his primary education in 1973, he matriculated to the William V.C. Tubman Methodist High School in Gbarnga, from where he obtained a high school diploma in 1979.”[5] In 1986 he went to the University of Liberia for a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration. However, it sounds as if he did not graduate.[6]
Ever married? If yes, age of first marriage
Yes, he was married before he was leader.[7]
Children
Whether he had children is unknown.
Religious identification
He is Muslim.[8]
Elite family background
Yes, “Sekoue Conneh was born into a prosperous Mandingo family.”[9]
Political affiliations and intellectual circles; note any relevant social connections made
Yes, “He took the road of struggle, and in 1980, joined the Progressive People’s Party (PPP), the party that lit the beacon-fire of political consciousness and, the restoration of constitutional democracy and social justice in Liberia. He was also a staunch member of the then Progressive Alliance of Liberia (PAL), the mother organization of the PPP of Gabriel Baccus Matthews. PPP was the first legal political opposition party in Liberia. It was banned and some of its leaders were arrested and charged with treason by the Tolbert government. Sekou Damate Conneh Jr. served PPP as Senior Coordinator for the Kokoyah District in Bong County. He fled to Uganda, East Africa, in the aftermath of the crackdown on PPP members by the then administration of William R. Tolbert Jr. in early 1980. While in Uganda, Chairman Conneh was contributing to progressive activities in Liberia. He returned home in 1985 in a bid to contest the parliamentary election on the ticket of the United People’s Party (PPP) of Honourable Gabriel Baccus Matthews. Unfortunately, the then Interim National Assembly (INA) government for possessing ‘foreign ideology’ banned the party.”[10]
Physical and mental health
No, there is no evidence of poor physical or mental health.
Pre-militant leader occupation
He was a tax collector.[11]
Experience in a state military, and role; any relevant social ties
No, there is no evidence of experience in a state military.
Experience in a nonstate military, and role; any relevant social ties
No, there is no evidence of experience in a nonstate military.
Combat experience prior to assuming resistance organization leadership?
Yes probably, he was the leader of LURD forces in northern Liberia, “expanding from territory in the north to share almost two thirds of the country with another rebel group.”[12]
Held government position prior to assuming leadership?
Yes, in 1986 “he secured an employment with the Ministry of Finance as a revenue agent assigned in Rivercess County. In 1988, he was transferred to Bentol, the provincial capital of Montserrado County where he remained until the collapse of the Samuel K. Doe administration.”[13]
Lived in exile?
Yes, “he fled to Uganda, East Africa, in the aftermath of the crackdown on PPP members by the then administration of William R. Tolbert Jr. in early 1980.”[14] Then in 1990 he fled to Guinea because of the civil war in Liberia.[15]
Study abroad?
No, there is no evidence he studied abroad.
Did the leader receive military training abroad?
No, there is no evidence of military training abroad.
Did the leader have extensive work experience abroad?
No, there is no evidence he had extensive work experience abroad.
Serve time in prison? Social connections during that time?
Yes, “Conneh began exporting second-hand cars purchased in Guinea to Liberia. But the activity landed him in trouble a year later when he was arrested by Liberian intelligence officers at the Ganta border crossing and accused of smuggling. Conneh was moved to a prison cell in Monrovia, but his clairvoyant wife interceded with the Guinean head of state to get him released.”[16]
Was there an assassination attempt on the leader by the state?
No, there is no evidence of an assassination attempt by the state.
Cause of Death?
N/A
Primary language, and other languages spoken as adult
He probably speaks Mandingo as his primary language, as well as English.
[1]Image Credit: https://assets.irinnews.org/s3fs-public/styles/responsive_large/public/images/20038196.jpg?hGxRKGC4J9yuSAQ3Ar5EV3QHyEoLpbTp&itok=Uu3Cr5zc
(For non-commercial use, all credits belong to the original owners, please contact for removal)
"Sekou Damate Conneh Jr. – Became A Rebel Leader,” Brief Biographies – JRank Articles, Accessed October 29, 2017, https://biography.jrank.org/pages/2571/Conneh-Sekou-Damate-Jr.html
[2] “BIOGRAPHY SEKOU DAMATE CONNEH JR,” us-africa.tripod.com, Accessed October 29, 2017, http://us-africa.tripod.com/sekou/biography.html.
[3] “Profile of LURD Leader, Sekou Conneh,” The New Humanitarian, August 19, 2003, Accessed August 5, 2021, https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/fr/node/213698.
[4] “BIOGRAPHY SEKOU DAMATE CONNEH JR,” us-africa.tripod.com, Accessed October 29, 2017, http://us-africa.tripod.com/sekou/biography.html.
[5] “BIOGRAPHY SEKOU DAMATE CONNEH JR,” us-africa.tripod.com, Accessed October 29, 2017, http://us-africa.tripod.com/sekou/biography.html.
[6] “BIOGRAPHY SEKOU DAMATE CONNEH JR,” us-africa.tripod.com, Accessed October 29, 2017, http://us-africa.tripod.com/sekou/biography.html.
[7] “Profile of LURD leader, Sekou Conneh,” IRIN, Accessed October 29, 2017, http://www.irinnews.org/feature/2003/08/19/profile-lurd-leader-sekou-conneh
[8] “BIOGRAPHY SEKOU DAMATE CONNEH JR,” us-africa.tripod.com, Accessed October 29, 2017, http://us-africa.tripod.com/sekou/biography.html.
[9] Anders Themnér, Warlord Democrats in Africa: Ex-Military Leaders and Electoral Politics (London: Zed Books, 2017).
[10] “BIOGRAPHY SEKOU DAMATE CONNEH JR,” us-africa.tripod.com, Accessed October 29, 2017, http://us-africa.tripod.com/sekou/biography.html.
[11] “Profile of LURD leader, Sekou Conneh,” IRIN, Accessed October 29, 2017, http://www.irinnews.org/feature/2003/08/19/profile-lurd-leader-sekou-conneh
[12] "Sekou Damate Conneh Jr. – Became A Rebel Leader,” Brief Biographies – JRank Articles, Accessed October 29, 2017, https://biography.jrank.org/pages/2571/Conneh-Sekou-Damate-Jr.html
[13] “BIOGRAPHY SEKOU DAMATE CONNEH JR,” us-africa.tripod.com, Accessed October 29, 2017, http://us-africa.tripod.com/sekou/biography.html.
[14] “BIOGRAPHY SEKOU DAMATE CONNEH JR,” us-africa.tripod.com, Accessed October 29, 2017, http://us-africa.tripod.com/sekou/biography.html.
[15] “Profile of LURD leader, Sekou Conneh,” IRIN, Accessed October 29, 2017, http://www.irinnews.org/feature/2003/08/19/profile-lurd-leader-sekou-conneh
[16] “Profile of LURD leader, Sekou Conneh,” IRIN, Accessed October 29, 2017, http://www.irinnews.org/feature/2003/08/19/profile-lurd-leader-sekou-conneh