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Dorothy Harriet Eugenia Musuleng Cooper (also known as "D-Mus," September 9, 1930 – June 30, 2009) was a
Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean to its south and southwest. It ...
n educator, politician and the first woman to serve as Foreign Minister in Liberia. She was born at
Arthington, Liberia Arthington is a small town in Montserrado County, Liberia, located along the Saint Paul River northeast of the capital city of Monrovia. It is mainly known as the hometown of former President Charles Taylor, the country's 22nd president. History ...
and obtained her B.S. and M.S. from
College of West Africa The College of West Africa is a Methodist high school in Monrovia, Liberia. The school was opened in 1839 (as the "Monrovia Seminary"), making it one of the oldest European-style schools in Africa. It has produced many of Liberia's leaders. Alumni ...
and
San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different b ...
respectively. She worked as a school teacher between graduation and high school and matriculation in 1964 in
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
in 1964, curriculum development in the Ministry of Education, and principal of
Cuttington University College Cuttington University is a private university in Suacoco, Liberia. Founded in 1889 as Cuttington College by the Episcopal Church of the United States (ECUSA), it is the oldest private, coeducational, four-year, degree-granting institution in sub-Sa ...
. She was an education minister in Charles Taylor's shadow government from 1990 to 1993 in the
National Patriotic Reconstruction Assembly Government The National Patriotic Reconstruction Assembly Government (NPRAG) was a self-declared, alternative administration established in early 1991 in areas held by the rebel National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) during the country's civil war. It w ...
During 1994, she was appointed as the Vice-chairperson of the
National Patriotic Front of Liberia The National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) was a Liberian rebel group that initiated and participated in the First Liberian Civil War from 1989 to 1996. Leadership The military aspects of NPFL were led by Charles Taylor, a former governmen ...
, the guerilla movement of Charles Taylor. In 1994, she was appointed as Foreign Minister of Liberia during the period of civil war. In 2001, Taylor's government established a Ministry of Gender and Development (MoGD) and appointed Cooper as the first minister to that position and continued till 2005. She died on June 30, 2009, at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital 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 ...
and was survived by four of her eight biological children.


Early life

Cooper was born in
Arthington Arthington is a small village in Wharfedale, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. It is a civil parish which, according to the 2011 census, had a population of 532 and is in the LS21 postcode district with O ...
in
Montserrado County Montserrado County is a county in the northwestern portion of the West African nation of Liberia containing its national capital, Monrovia. One of 15 counties that comprise the first-level of administrative division in the nation, it has 17 sub p ...
to Augustus Washington Cooper Sr. and Irene Anna Flossy Knight. Cooper attended
San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different b ...
with a bachelor's and master's degree in Elementary Education. She Completed her B.S from
College of West Africa The College of West Africa is a Methodist high school in Monrovia, Liberia. The school was opened in 1839 (as the "Monrovia Seminary"), making it one of the oldest European-style schools in Africa. It has produced many of Liberia's leaders. Alumni ...
in Monrovia and M.S. at
San Francisco State College San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different b ...
during the 1970s. She worked as a school teacher between graduation and high school and matriculation in 1964 in
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
in 1964, and later went on to work in curriculum development in the Ministry of Education. She had also previously served as the principal of
Cuttington University College Cuttington University is a private university in Suacoco, Liberia. Founded in 1889 as Cuttington College by the Episcopal Church of the United States (ECUSA), it is the oldest private, coeducational, four-year, degree-granting institution in sub-Sa ...
.


Political career

She was an education minister in Charles Taylor's shadow government from 1990 to 1993 in the
National Patriotic Reconstruction Assembly Government The National Patriotic Reconstruction Assembly Government (NPRAG) was a self-declared, alternative administration established in early 1991 in areas held by the rebel National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) during the country's civil war. It w ...
. The
National Patriotic Front of Liberia The National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) was a Liberian rebel group that initiated and participated in the First Liberian Civil War from 1989 to 1996. Leadership The military aspects of NPFL were led by Charles Taylor, a former governmen ...
, a rebel group led by Charles Taylor, launched an insurrection in December 1989 against the ruling Doe's government with the backing of neighboring countries such as
Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...
and
Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...
. This triggered the
First Liberian Civil War The First Liberian Civil War lasted from 1989 to 1997. President Samuel Doe had established a regime in 1980 but totalitarianism and corruption led to unpopularity and the withdrawal of support from the United States by the late 1980s. The Na ...
from 1989 to 1999 that killed 200,000 people. The rebels soon split into various factions, namely IGNU, Ulimo and NPFL. D fighting among each another. A peace deal between warring parties was reached in 1995, leading to Taylor's election as president in 1997. The agreement was signed by Musuleng-Cooper from NPFL front with representatives from other two factions. The take over by the council was delayed on account of delay in deploying peacekeeping forces. She was chosen as the deputy chairman on August 25, but was replaced by Gen. Isaac Musa on September 22. During 1994, she was appointed as the vice-chairperson of the
National Patriotic Front of Liberia The National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) was a Liberian rebel group that initiated and participated in the First Liberian Civil War from 1989 to 1996. Leadership The military aspects of NPFL were led by Charles Taylor, a former governmen ...
, the guerilla movement of Charles Taylor. In 1994, she was appointed as Foreign Minister of Liberia, by the
National Patriotic Front of Liberia The National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) was a Liberian rebel group that initiated and participated in the First Liberian Civil War from 1989 to 1996. Leadership The military aspects of NPFL were led by Charles Taylor, a former governmen ...
(NPFL). Cooper was the first woman to hold that position in Liberia. She became the first woman politician to hold the post. She continued in the ministry till 1995. She also filled the last open spot, completing the seating of the Liberian National Transitional Government. During her time as Foreign Minister, she was part of a delegation to attempt to release
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...
hostage A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized, such as a relative, employer, law enforcement or government to act, or ref ...
s in
Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...
. Later, in 2001, Taylor's government established a Ministry of Gender and Development (MoGD) and appointed Cooper as the first minister to that position. She continued with the Portfolio till 2003. #Tripp, Tripp 2015, pp. 90–91 The interim President Gyude Byrant replaced her with Vabah Gayflor in 2005.


Later life

Cooper had eight children. She died on June 30, 2009, at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital 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 ...
and was survived by four of her biological children. The survivors included Samuel H. Herring Jr., Boehnflahn J. Herring, Alonzo B. Herring, Eva-mae Herring-Christopher, Madia Herring-Mensah, Johnett Herring Hammond, Anie Herring-Freeman, Laurel Herring, Ruel F. Dempster, Byogah J. Herring, Hilton Herring, Amanda Herring, Christopher Herring, Eunice Tubman, Lily Behna, Edwin Borbor, Roland Mitchell, Tonieh Wiles, Benoni Urey, John T. Richardson (Josephine), Belle Roberts, Myrtle Gibson and Eric Kilby. Her funeral was held on 31 July 2009 in Stryker Funeral Home in Monrovia, Liberia.


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References

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Musuleng-Cooper, Dorothy 2009 deaths 1930 births Liberian educators People from Montserrado County Americo-Liberian people People of Americo-Liberian descent San Francisco State University alumni Foreign ministers of Liberia Cuttington University Female foreign ministers 20th-century Liberian politicians 21st-century Liberian politicians 21st-century Liberian women politicians 20th-century Liberian women politicians Women government ministers of Liberia Liberian women diplomats