Ruth Sando Fahnbulleh Perry (16 July 1939 – 8 January 2017) was a Liberian politician. She served as the interim Chairman of the Council of State of Liberia from 3 September 1996 until 2 August 1997, following the First Liberian Civil War.''Jenda Journal'', "African Women Premier Ministers"
/ref> After eleven international peace attempts between 1990 and 1995 to end the civil war in Liberia, the attempts appeared to succeed. The interim Council of State consisted of a civilian chairman, as well as members of warring factions: Charles Taylor, United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy-K leader

Alhaji Kromah Alhaji Garxim Varmuyan Kromah (11 February 1953 – 18 January 2022) was a Liberian journalist, writer, politician, and former warlord and leader of the ULIMO faction during the Liberian Civil War. He was a moderate Muslim from Liberia and memb ...

, Liberia Peace Council leader

George Boley Dr.George Eutychianus Saigbe Boley (born 7 December 1949) is a Liberian politician and former warlord. He is a member of the Krahn ethnic group. Boley was a junior minister in the administration of President William Tolbert, but was briefly ja ...

, and two other civilians. Perry was known for being the first female president of Liberia and of contemporary Africa as a whole. Liberia also has the distinction of electing

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (born Ellen Eugenia Johnson, 29 October 1938) is a Liberian politician who served as the 24th president of Liberia from 2006 to 2018. Sirleaf was the first elected female head of state in Africa. Sirleaf was born in Monro ...

as the first elected female African leader in modern times.Skard, Torild (2014) "Ruth Perry" in ''Women of Power – Half a century of female presidents and prime ministers worldwide'', Bristol: Policy Press,

Early life

Perry was born 16 July 1939, in a rural area of Grand Cape Mount County, Liberia, the daughter of Marjon and AlHaji Semila Fahnbulleh. She was a Muslim of Vai ethnic ancestry. As a child, Perry participated in the

Sande society Sande, also known as zadεgi, bundu, bundo and bondo, is a women's initiation society in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and the Ivory Coast. The Sande society initiates girls into adulthood by rituals including female genital mutilation. It is ...

, a traditional school and secret society for females, and attended regular classes. Her parents later enrolled her in a Roman Catholic school for girls in

Monrovia Monrovia () is the capital city of the West African country of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic coast and as of the 2008 census had 1,010,970 residents, home to 29% of Liberia’s total population. As th ...

run by missionary nuns. Perry graduated from the Teachers College of the

University of Liberia The University of Liberia (UL or LU in older versions of abbreviation) is a publicly funded institution of higher learning located in Monrovia, Liberia. Authorized by the national government in 1851, the university opened in 1862 as Liberia Coll ...

. She worked as an elementary school teacher in Grand Cape Mount County.Brennan, Carol (2006). ''Contemporary Black Biography''. . She married McDonald Perry, a judge and legislator and they had seven children. After her children were grown, Perry worked in the Monrovia office of

Chase Manhattan Bank JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., doing business as Chase Bank or often as Chase, is an American national bank headquartered in New York City, that constitutes the consumer and commercial banking subsidiary of the U.S. multinational banking and fi ...

in 1971, and taught at a Sande school as an elder.

Political career

When her husband was involved in politics, Ruth Perry engaged in the electoral campaign and tried to get women to vote for him. After her husband died, the party asked Ruth to run as senator for their home district. In 1985, Perry won a seat in the Liberian Senate as a Unity Party candidate. In response to Samuel Doe's presidential election after calling elections, Unity Party office-holders and other official opposition politicians boycotted the Senate in protest, asserting that the Doe government was illegitimate. Perry did not join the boycott and became the lone member of the opposition in the Assembly. "You can't solve the problems by staying away," she said. She served until 1989. Afterwards, Perry launched a retail business and became active in civilian groups such as Women Initiative in Liberia, Women in Action for Goodwill and the Association of Social Services that sought an end to the growing Liberian Civil War.

Interim Head of State: 1996–97

On 17 August 1996, after 17 years of conflict and 7 years of war, the

Economic Community of West African States The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS; also known as in French and Portuguese) is a regional political and economic union of fifteen countries located in West Africa. Collectively, these countries comprise an area of , and in ...

(ECOWAS) representatives negotiated a cease-fire between Liberia's warring factions and announced that Perry would replace Wilton Sankawulo as Chairman of the Council of State in an interim government. Reportedly all four warlords in the Liberian conflict had agreed to the peace agreement with Perry as interim leader, after her return from a brief exile in

Staten Island, New York Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull and ...

Later life and death

After stepping down, Perry moved between Liberia and the US. In 2004, she was an ''African President-in-Residence'' at the African Presidential Archives and Research Center at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with ...

. Perry died on 8 January 2017 at the age of 77.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perry, Ruth 1939 births 2017 deaths 20th-century Liberian politicians 20th-century Liberian women politicians Female heads of state Women rulers in Africa Liberian Muslims Members of the Senate of Liberia People from Grand Cape Mount County People from Staten Island Presidents of Liberia Unity Party (Liberia) politicians University of Liberia alumni Women presidents