 | |
| 2nd President of Sierra Leone | |
| In office November 28, 1985 – April 29, 1992 | |
| Vice President | Francis Minah (1985–87) Abu Bakar Kamara (1987–91) Abdulai Conteh (1991–92) |
| Preceded by | Siaka Stevens |
| Succeeded by | Valentine Strasser |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 26, 1937 Binkolo, Bombali District, British Sierra Leone |
| Died | August 3, 2003 (aged 66) Conakry, Guinea |
| Political party | All People's Congress (APC) |
| Spouse(s) | Fatmata Momoh, Hannah Momoh |
| Children | JS Momoh jr |
Major General Joseph Saidu Momoh, OOR, OBE (January 26, 1937 – August 3, 2003) was a Sierra Leonean politician and military officer who served as the second President of Sierra Leone from November 1985 to 29 April 1992.[1]
Momoh was a member of the Limba ethnic group and briefly began a career in civil service before joining the military in 1956. Following the rise to power of Siaka Stevens, Momoh was appointed force commander in 1971, promoted to major-general in 1983, and became the secretary general of the country's sole legal party, the All People's Congress in 1985.
Stevens' retired later that year, and was succeeded by Momoh after a presidential election with himself as the only candidate. He inherited a deteriorating economy, but made significant improvements in combatting corruption. In foreign policy, he enjoyed positive relations with the United States and the United Kingdom. In 1991, the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebel group incited the Sierra Leone Civil War with the goal of overthrowing him. Later that year, he introduced a new constitution allowing for a multiparty system. Despite this, he was overthrown in a coup d'état the following year led by Valentine Strasser, who cited his government's unpaid salaries and poor logistical supply to frontline soldiers fighting against the RUF as motives. He fled into exile in Guinea, where he died in 2003, one year after the end of the war.
- ^ Jalloh, Alusine (2018). Muslim Fula business elites and politics in Sierra Leone. Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press. p. 176. ISBN 9781580461146. OCLC 1006316899.