Ousainou Darboe
| Ousainou Darboe | |
|---|---|
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
|
Assumed office 1 February 2017 |
|
| President | Adama Barrow |
| Preceded by | Neneh MacDouall-Gaye |
| Leader of the United Democratic Party | |
|
Assumed office August 1996 |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born | 8 August 1953 |
| Political party | United Democratic Party |
| Alma mater |
University of Lagos University of Ottawa |
Ousainou Darboe (born 8 August 1948) is a Gambian human rights lawyer and politician who has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of The Gambia since 2017. He is leader of the United Democratic Party (UDP), which he founded in 1996; it was the main opposition party under the rule of President Yahya Jammeh, and Darboe unsuccessfully stood as a presidential candidate against Jammeh on several occasions.
Darboe was born in 1948, the son of Numukunda Darboe, who served as a member of parliament for Lower Falluda West, and as communications secretary for Pierre Sarr N'Jie's United Party. Darboe attended Bansang Primary School and then proceeded to Banjul, where he studied at Saint Augustine High School and Gambia High School. Darboe was the recipient of a Commonwealth scholarship to study law at the University of Lagos in Nigeria. He also later studied a master's degree in law from the University of Ottawa, Canada.
He then left the Gambia, as he had received a Commonwealth scholarship to study law in Nigeria. He is the first Gambian lawyer from the Mandinka ethnic group.
Darboe was called to the Federal Bar of Nigeria in 1973 and returned to the Gambia in May 1973 to take up a role as a state prosecutor. He was called to the Gambian bar in November 1973, becoming the first Gambian lawyer from the Mandinka ethnic group. He then worked at the Attorney General's Chambers, firstly as a state counsel, then as acting registrar-general, and then as a legal draftsman, before resigning in 1980 in protests against the government's use of draconian legislation to suppress opposition.
Darboe then entered a private practice, working as a human rights barrister. He is credited with having saved the lives of over 200 Gambians from the death penalty. Following the failed 1981 coup against Dawda Jawara's government, Darboe successfully defended many involved, including Pap Cheyassin Secka and Sheriff Mustapha Dibba who were both tried for treason. Darboe also represented the majority of those detained under 'Emergency Powers' following the coup.
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