Isatou Njie-Saidy

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Isatou Njie-Saidy
Njie-Saidy in 2012
7th Vice-President of the Gambia
In office
20 March 1997 – 18 January 2017
PresidentYahya Jammeh
Preceded bySaihou Sabally
Succeeded byFatoumata Tambajang
Secretary of State of Social Welfare, Health and Women's Affairs
In office
20 March 1997 – 18 January 2017
PresidentYahya Jammeh
Preceded byNyimasata Sanneh-Bojang
Succeeded byFatoumata Tambajang
Personal details
Born (1952-03-15) 15 March 1952 (age 73)
Gambia
Political partyAPRC

Isatou Njie-Saidy (also spelt Aisatu N'Jie-Saidy; born 5 March 1952) is a

Vice President of the Gambia, as well as Secretary of State for Women's Affairs, from 20 March 1997 to 18 January 2017. She is the first Gambian woman to have held the position of Vice President and one of the first women in West African politics to reach this senior position.[1]

Early life and education

Njie-Saidy was born in

University of Swansea.[1]

Political career

From September 1983 to December 1989, Njie-Saidy was Deputy Executive Secretary of the Women's Bureau, the executive decision-making body of the National Women's Council. Two years after the 1994 Gambian coup d'état in which Yahya Jammeh seized power, in July 1996 Njie-Saidy was appointed as Minister of Health, Social Welfare and Women's Affairs. On March 20th, 1997 a few months after the 1996 presidential election which was won President Jammeh, Njie-Saidy was appointed as Vice-President of the Gambia and Secretary of State for Health, Social Welfare and Women's Affairs.[1]

She has spoken and written extensively about women's issues in the Gambia.[2][3]

In December 2015, Njie-Saidy's relationship with Jammeh was strained. According to Freedom Newspaper, a close aide of Jammeh reported that "Jammeh has intimated to them that he doesn’t want to see Isatou Njie Saidy. He branded Isatou as a “bad person” who contributed towards his government's failure. Jammeh told his aides that he is going to replace Isatou Njie Saidy."[4]

On 18 January 2017, Njie-Saidy resigned in the midst of the

2016–17 constitutional crisis, along with several other government ministers.[5]

Personal life

Njie-Saidy is married and has four children. She speaks several languages, namely: Mandinka, Fulani, Wolof, English and French.

References
  1. ^ a b c "Office of The Vice President of Gambia". Access Gambia. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  2. ^ "H.E. Isatou Njie Saidy launches National Policy for Advancement of Gambian Women". Archived from the original on 2 March 2007. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  3. ^ "Office of the President: Gambia: State House". Archived from the original on 5 February 2008. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  4. ^ "Gambia: Jammeh To Fire His Vice President Isatou Njie Soon!". Freedom Newspaper. 9 December 2015. Archived from the original on December 14, 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  5. ^ AfricaNews (18 January 2017). "Gambia's Vice President resigns hours before Jammeh's mandate ends". Africanews. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
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