Ruth Perry

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the Liberian politician. For other people named Ruth Perry, see Ruth Perry (disambiguation).
Ruth Perry
Tamba Tailor
Charles Taylor[1][2]
Preceded byWilton Sankawulo
Succeeded byCharles Taylor (President)
Personal details
Born
Ruth Sando Fahnbulleh Perry

(1939-07-16)16 July 1939
Grand Cape Mount, Liberia
Died8 January 2017(2017-01-08) (aged 77)
Columbus, Ohio, U.S.
Political partyUnity Party
Alma materUniversity of Liberia

Ruth Sando Fahnbulleh Perry (16 July 1939 – 8 January 2017) was a Liberian politician. She served as the interim

Alhaji Kromah, Liberia Peace Council leader George Boley
, and two other civilians.

Perry was known for being the first female president of Liberia and of contemporary Africa as a whole.[3] Liberia also has the distinction of electing Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as the first elected female African leader in modern times.[4]

Early life

Perry was born 16 July 1939, in a rural area of

Roman Catholic school for girls in Monrovia run by missionary nuns. Perry graduated from the Teachers College of the University of Liberia. She worked as an elementary school teacher in Grand Cape Mount County.[5]

She married McDonald Perry, a judge and legislator and they had seven children. After her children were grown, Perry worked in the Monrovia office of

Chase Manhattan Bank in 1971, and taught at a Sande school as an elder.[5]

Political career

When her husband was involved in politics, Ruth Perry engaged in the electoral campaign and tried to get women to vote for him. After her husband died, the party asked Ruth to run as senator for their home district. In 1985, Perry won a seat in the

Liberian Senate as a Unity Party candidate.[6] In response to Samuel Doe's presidential election after calling elections, Unity Party office-holders and other official opposition politicians boycotted the Senate in protest, asserting that the Doe government was illegitimate. Perry did not join the boycott and became the lone member of the opposition in the Assembly.[5] "You can't solve the problems by staying away," she said.[4] She served until 1989. Afterwards, Perry launched a retail business and became active in civilian groups such as Women Initiative in Liberia, Women in Action for Goodwill and the Association of Social Services that sought an end to the growing Liberian Civil War.[7]

Interim Head of State: 1996–97

On 17 August 1996, after 17 years of conflict and 7 years of war, the

Staten Island, New York.[8]

Later life and death

After stepping down, Perry moved between Liberia and the US. In 2004, she was an African President-in-Residence at the African Presidential Archives and Research Center at Boston University.[9] Perry died on 8 January 2017 at the age of 77.[10]

References

  1. hdl:2027/mdp.39015061931294
    .
  2. hdl:2027/mdp.39015073049333
    .
  3. ^ a b "Jenda Journal, "African Women Premier Ministers"". Archived from the original on 2010-06-06. Retrieved 2008-12-08.
  4. ^
    ISBN 978-1-44731-578-0
  5. ^
    ISBN 9780787679224
    .
  6. ^ "New Interim Leader Is Chosen for Liberia". The New York Times. August 19, 1996. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  7. ISBN 9780312223380
    .
  8. ^ Matteo, Thomas (18 September 2011). "The World Leaders Who Walked Among Us". Staten Island Advance. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
  9. ^ BU | APARC | About the Center Archived 2006-09-20 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ "Death of Matriach: Ruth Perry, Former Liberian Leader Dies At 77". FrontPage Africa. 9 January 2017. Archived from the original on 8 January 2017. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
Political offices
Preceded by Chairman of the Council of State of Liberia
1996–1997 		Succeeded byas President of Liberia
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ruth_Perry&oldid=1200141119"