Isatou Njie-Saidy (also spelt Aisatu N'Jie-Saidy; born 5 March 1952) is a Gambian politician. She was Vice President of the Gambia, as well as Secretary of State for Women's Affairs, from 20 March 1997 to 18 January 2017. She is the first Gambian woman to have held the position of Vice President and one of the first women in West African politics to reach this senior position.

Early life and education

Njie-Saidy was born in Kuntaya on March 15th,1952

North Bank Division North Bank was one of the five administrative divisions of the Gambia. Its capital was Kerewan. It was subsequently reorganised as the Kerewan Local Government Area (LGA), without any change in the area covered. Per 2013 census, the region had ...

. From 1959 to 1964, she attended Brikama Primary School, and from 1964 and 1970, she studied at Armitage High School, Georgetown. In 1971, she attended Yundum Teacher Training College, where she qualified as a teacher in 1974. From July 1979 to December 1979, she studied at the Research Institute for Management Science,

Delft University of Technology The Delft University of Technology (TU Delft; ) is the oldest and largest Dutch public university, public Institute of technology, technical university, located in Delft, Netherlands. It specializes in engineering, technology, computing, design, a ...

, in

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, where she was awarded a post-graduate diploma in industrial management. From September to November 1981, she studied at the

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; ) is a Higher education in the Philippines#State universities and colleges, state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by List of Philippine laws, Re ...

, where she obtained a certificate in small-scale industrial information management. In September 1988, she completed a Masters of Science in Social and Economic Development at the University of Swansea.

Political career

From September 1983 to December 1989, Njie-Saidy was Deputy Executive Secretary of the Women's Bureau, the executive decision-making body of the National Women's Council. Two years after the

1994 Gambian coup d'état In the 1994 Gambian coup d'état, a group of soldiers led by 29-year-old Lieutenant Yahya Jammeh seized power in a coup d'état on the morning of 22 July, ousting Dawda Jawara, who had been President of The Gambia since it became a Republic in ...

in which

Yahya Jammeh Yahya Abdul-Aziz Jemus Junkung Jammeh (born 25 May 1965) is a Gambian politician and former soldier, who served as President of the Gambia from 1996 to 2017. He was the Chairman of the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council (AFPRC) from 1994 ...

seized power, in July 1996 Njie-Saidy was appointed as Minister of Health, Social Welfare and Women's Affairs. On March 20th, 1997 a few months after the 1996 presidential election which was won President Jammeh, Njie-Saidy was appointed as

Vice-President of the Gambia The vice president of the Republic of the Gambia is the second highest political position in the Gambia. The office was created in April 1970, with the passing of the republican Constitution of the Gambia following the 1970 Gambian republic re ...

and Secretary of State for Health, Social Welfare and Women's Affairs. She has spoken and written extensively about women's issues in the Gambia. In December 2015, Njie-Saidy's relationship with Jammeh was strained. According to ''Freedom Newspaper'', a close aide of Jammeh reported that "Jammeh has intimated to them that he doesn’t want to see Isatou Njie Saidy. He branded Isatou as a “bad person” who contributed towards his government's failure. Jammeh told his aides that he is going to replace Isatou Njie Saidy." On 18 January 2017, Njie-Saidy resigned in the midst of the 2016–17 constitutional crisis, along with several other government ministers.

Personal life

Njie-Saidy is married and has four children. She speaks several languages, namely: Mandinka, Fulani, Wolof, English and French.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Njie Saidy, Isatou 1952 births Living people Vice-presidents of the Gambia Government ministers of the Gambia Serer politicians Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction politicians Gambian Muslims People from North Bank Division 20th-century Gambian women politicians 20th-century Gambian politicians 21st-century Gambian women politicians 21st-century Gambian politicians Women government ministers of the Gambia Women vice presidents in Africa Gambian radio presenters Gambian women radio presenters