Johnny Paul Koroma
| Johnny Paul Koroma | |
|---|---|
| Head of State of Sierra Leone | |
|
In office May 25, 1997 – February 6, 1998 |
|
| Preceded by | Ahmed Tejan Kabbah |
| Succeeded by | Ahmed Tejan Kabbah |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
May 9, 1960 Tombodu, Kono District, Sierra Leone |
| Died | 2003? Lofa, Liberia? |
| Nationality | Sierra Leonean |
| Political party | Military Junta (Armed Forces Revolutionary Council- AFRC) |
| Religion | Christianity |
| Military service | |
| Service/branch | Sierra Leone Army |
| Years of service | 1985 – 1998 |
| Rank | Major |
| Battles/wars | Sierra Leone Civil War |
Major Johnny Paul Koroma (born 9 May 1960; declared dead 1 June 2003) was the head of state of Sierra Leone from May 1997 to February 1998.
Koroma was born to Limba parents in Tombodu, in the Kono District of eastern Sierra Leone, and grew up in Freetown, the capital. He is from the same ethnic group as former presidents Siaka Stevens and Joseph Saidu Momoh.
He joined the Sierra Leonean army in 1985 and was sent to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in England in 1988 to train as an officer. He returned to Sierra Leone the next year and was promoted to platoon commander, and soon thereafter to company commander. He continued to move up the ladder, and in 1994, he went to the Teshi Military College in Ghana for training in army command.
Koroma received military training in Nigeria and Britain. He commanded government forces who were fighting against the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), a rebel army led by the warlord Foday Sankoh. In August 1996, he was arrested for alleged involvement in a coup plot against the southern civilian officials who were in control of the country. It was also alleged that there were plans to kill President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah.
Koroma was freed from prison during a successful military coup on 25 May 1997, when 17 junior soldiers serving the Sierra Leone Army (SLA) broke into the central prison and made a do-or-die offer that brought him to power. He advocated making a peaceful settlement with Sankoh and allowing him to join the government, though this never happened.
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