Henry Boimah Fahnbulleh

Henry Boimah Fahnbulleh, Jr. (born July 16, 1949)^[1] is a Liberian politician and diplomat. He most recently served in the Liberian Government as National Security Advisor in the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf administration. Immediately previous to his appointment as National Security Advisor, he served as Advisor on International Affairs in the same government.^[2] He served as Foreign Minister from 1981 to 1983 under President Samuel Doe.

Fahnbulleh's father, H. Boimah Fahnbulleh, Sr, was also prominent in Liberian society; in Fahnbulleh Jr's words, Fahnbulleh Sr was "killed while striving for socio-economic justice".^[3] In 1968, Fahnbulleh Sr was convicted of treason based on his alleged writing of letters to other countries' ambassadors asking for help in a conspiracy to overthrow the existing Liberian government. According to the prosecution, he had been plotting since 1956; a major portion of the prosecution's case consisted of alleging that Fahnbulleh had criticised the Liberian government in front of other countries' ambassadors while he was serving as the Liberian ambassador to Kenya.^[4] Fahnbulleh Sr adamantly denied the charges, stating that he deserved a new trial because the prosecution's arguments were based on events that never happened. The prosecution replied that his arguments were "unmeritorious" because the events did not need to have happened in order for him to be guilty, and his request for a new trial was denied.^[5] Very soon after taking office in 1971, President William R. Tolbert, Jr. recognised that Fahnbulleh had been the victim of trumped-up charges and pardoned him.^[6]