Abdulai Conteh
Dr Abdulai Osman Conteh (born August 5, 1945) is a lawyer and politician from Sierra Leone.
Dr. Abdulai Osman Conteh was born on August 5, 1945 in Pepel, Port Loko District. Raised mostly in Freetown, he attended the Albert Academy and later Fourah Bay College before traveling to the UK for further studies. Dr. Conteh has the following educational qualifications: Ph.D, (International Law), 1974, King's College, Cambridge; LLB (Hons): 1971, King's College, Cambridge; LLM: 1971, London University, United Kingdom; LLB (Hons): 1969, King's College London; Barrister at Law: Called to the Bar of England and Wales, 1970, at Lincoln’s Inn, London, United Kingdom; Harold Porter Prize man In Land Law, 1968. He returned home in the early 70s and worked for the SL Law Officers Department. Dr. Conteh later went into private practice and taught Law at Fourah Bay College for several years.
He is from the Susu people of Kambia, Sierra Leone, and was part of the All Peoples Congress (APC) party.
Dr. Conteh is married to Radia Labi Conteh and they have 6 children.
Conteh's public service in Sierra Leone has included holding the offices of Minister of Foreign Affairs (1977–1984); Minister of Finance (1984–1985); Attorney-General and Minister of Justice (1987–1991) and First Vice-President and Minister of Rural Development (1991–1992). He served as a member of Parliament from Kambia District (his paternal home district) from 1977-1992.
In late 2007, Conteh was nominated as a candidate to become Chairperson of the African Union Commission in early 2008, but he was not successful, with Jean Ping of Gabon being elected.
In January 2000, Conteh became the Chief Justice of the Belize Supreme Court.
In 2008 and 2010, Conteh authored two decisions affirming the common law doctrine of aboriginal title and the existence of Maya customary land tenure in the Toledo District of Belize. Only the villages of Conejo and Santa Cruz were parties to the 2008 ruling; however, the 2010 ruling was the result of a representative action on behalf of all the Maya communities. The ruling voided all government leases, concessions, grants, and contracts adverse to the Maya tenure. The "landmark victory" is predicted to have "far-reaching implications" for "logging, mining, and petroleum concessions in what the Maya community claims is over 500,000 acres of ancestral homeland." The government intends to appeal the decision to the Caribbean Court of Justice.
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