The Mano River Union (MRU) is an international association initially established between

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

and

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

by the 3 October 1973 Mano River Declaration. It is named for the Mano River which begins in the Guinea highlands and forms a border between Liberia and Sierra Leone. On 25 October 1980,

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

joined the union. The goal of the Union was to "accelerate the economic growth, social progress and cultural advancement of our two countries ... by active collaboration and mutual assistance in matters of common interest in economic, social, technical, scientific and administrative fields". However, due to internal conflicts within the two original MRU countries (the Sierra Leone Civil War 991-2002and the First 989-1997and

Second Liberian Civil War The Second Liberian Civil War was a civil war in the West African nation of Liberia that lasted from 1999 to 2003. The war was mainly caused by transition failures after the First Civil War, especially the peace-building process which would res ...

s 999-2003, these objectives could not be achieved. The staff numbered 600 in 1986, but was down to 300 in 1993, then to 120, and 48 in 2000. On 20 May 2004, the Union was reactivated at a summit of the three leaders of the Mano River Union states: Presidents

Lansana Conté Lansana Conté (; 30 November 1934 – 22 December 2008

of Guinea and Ahmad Tejan Kabbah of Sierra Leone and Chairman

Gyude Bryant Charles Gyude Bryant (17 January 1949 – 16 April 2014) was a Liberian politician and businessman. He served as the Chairman of the Transitional Government of Liberia from 14 October 2003 to 16 January 2006. The installation of the transitional ...

of Liberia. On 15 May 2008,

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest city and ...

agreed to join the union.

Organizational structure

The MRU is run by a secretariat, headed by a Secretary-General. Ambassador Simeon M-B. Harrison is the current Secretary-General of the Mano River Union. He became the 10th Secretary General. He replaced Madam Maria G. Harrison in May 2024. When Secretary-General Habib Diallo was killed in a car crash in 2011, his successor was the first woman to hold that office: Dr Saran Daraba Kaba. The Mano River Union Secretariat is based in

Freetown Freetown () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, e ...

, Sierra Leone, with offices in

Conakry Conakry ( , ; ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guinea. A port city, it serves as the economic, financial and cultural centre of Guinea. Its population as of the 2014 Guinea census was 1,660,973. The current population of C ...

, Guinea and

Monrovia Monrovia () is the administrative capital city, capital and largest city of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast and as of the 2022 census had 1,761,032 residents, home to 33.5% of Liber ...

, Liberia. In April 2016 the Union announced plans to form a Mano River Union Parliament, where legislators from the four member states will work to coordinate national legislation on matters of regional importance. To date this idea has been shelved as the cost and the structure of another parliamentary body whose relevance remains to be appreciated.

Secretaries-General of the MRU

* Dr. Cyril A. Bright, Liberia (1974–1978) * T. Ernest Eastman, Liberia (1978–1983) * Dr. Augustus F. Caine, Liberia (1983–1987) * Dr. Abdoulaye Diallo, Guinea (1988–2005) * Abraham Boure, Guinea (2007–2010) * Habib Diallo, Guinea (2010–2011) * Dr. Hadja Saran Daraba Kaba, Guinea (2011–2017) * Amb. Mrs. Medina A. Wesseh Esq, Liberia (2017–2022) * Amb. Maria G. Harrison, Liberia (2022-2024) * Amb. Mr. Simeon M-B. Moribah, Liberia (2024-)

References

{{Authority control Mano River Union Mano River Union Mano River Union Mano River Union