Dorothy Musuleng-Cooper
Dorothy Musuleng-Cooper | |
---|---|
Born | Dorothy Harriet Eugenia Cooper September 9, 1930 Monrovia, Liberia |
Citizenship | Liberia |
Alma mater | San Francisco State University |
Known for | first female Minister of Foreign Affairs in Liberia |
Dorothy Harriet Eugenia Musuleng Cooper (also known as "D-Mus," September 9, 1930 – June 30, 2009) was a Liberian educator, politician and the first woman to serve as Foreign Minister in Liberia. She was born at Arthington, Liberia and obtained her B.S. and M.S. from College of West Africa and San Francisco State University respectively. She worked as a school teacher between graduation and high school and matriculation in 1964 in San Francisco in 1964, curriculum development in the Ministry of Education, and principal of Cuttington University College. She was an education minister in Charles Taylor's shadow government from 1990 to 1993 in the National Patriotic Reconstruction Assembly Government
During 1994, she was appointed as the Vice-chairperson of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia, the guerilla movement of Charles Taylor. In 1994, she was appointed as Foreign Minister of Liberia during the period of civil war. In 2001, Taylor's government established a Ministry of Gender and Development (MoGD) and appointed Cooper as the first minister to that position and continued till 2005. She died on June 30, 2009, at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital in Monrovia and was survived by four of her eight biological children.
Early life
Cooper was born in
Political career
She was an education minister in
During 1994, she was appointed as the vice-chairperson of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia, the guerilla movement of Charles Taylor.[8] In 1994, she was appointed as Foreign Minister of Liberia,[9] by the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL).[10] Cooper was the first woman to hold that position in Liberia.[11] She became the first woman politician to hold the post.[12] She continued in the ministry till 1995.[8] She also filled the last open spot, completing the seating of the Liberian National Transitional Government.[13] During her time as Foreign Minister, she was part of a delegation to attempt to release United Nations hostages in Sierra Leone.[14]
Later, in 2001, Taylor's government established a Ministry of Gender and Development (MoGD) and appointed Cooper as the first minister to that position.[15] She continued with the Portfolio till 2003.[8] The interim President Gyude Byrant replaced her with Vabah Gayflor in 2005.[16]
Later life
Cooper had eight children.[1] She died on June 30, 2009, at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital in Monrovia and was survived by four of her biological children.[11] The survivors included Samuel H. Herring Jr., Boehnflahn J. Herring, Alonzo B. Herring, Eva-mae Herring-Christopher, Madia Herring-Mensah, Johnett Herring Hammond, Anie Herring-Freeman, Laurel Herring, Ruel F. Dempster, Byogah J. Herring, Hilton Herring, Amanda Herring, Christopher Herring, Eunice Tubman, Lily Behna, Edwin Borbor, Roland Mitchell, Tonieh Wiles, Benoni Urey, John T. Richardson (Josephine), Belle Roberts, Myrtle Gibson and Eric Kilby. Her funeral was held on 31 July 2009 in Stryker Funeral Home in Monrovia, Liberia.[17]
Notes
- ^ a b c "Dr. Dorothy Harriet Eugenia Musuleng Cooper 'D-Mus'". People to People: Liberia Online News. June 2009. Archived from the original on 25 March 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
- ISBN 9781461659310.
- ISBN 0814722199.
- ^ "Warring Liberians Form Government to Rule Until Elections". Los Angeles Times. 17 August 1993. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
- ISBN 0-8147-2238-5.
- ^ a b "Liberia country profile". BBC News. 4 May 2011. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
- ISBN 9781483371559.
- ^ a b c Tripp 2015, pp. 90–91
- ISBN 1564321398.
- ISBN 978-0230602595.
- ^ a b "Obituary for Liberia Associate Director for Training Musuleng "D. Mus" Cooper". Peace Corps. 1 July 2009. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
- ^ "Ambassador Marjon Kamara Appointed New Foreign Minister". Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Liberia. Archived from the original on 23 October 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
- ^ Fleischman, Janet (1994). "Rights and the Civil War in Liberia". Liberian Studies Journal. 19 (2): 174. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
- ^ The Prosecutor of the Special Court v. Charles Ghankay Taylor (PDF) (court transcript). Special Court for Sierra Leone. 2008. pp. 6692–6693. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
- ^ Kindervater, Lisa (2013). Seize the Day: Gender Politics in Liberia's Transition to Peace and Democracy (PDF) (document). Halifax, Nova Scotia: Dalhousie University. p. 63. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
- ^ Tripp 2015, p. 99
- ^ "Dr. Dorothy Harriet Eugenia Musuleng Cooper 'D-Mus'". TLC Africa. Archived from the original on July 30, 2009. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
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References
- ISBN 9781107115576.