Sheriff Mustapha Dibba (10 January 1937 – 2 June 2008) was a
Gambian politician who was the 1st
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 ...
(1970–1972) and also served as the country's
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...
speaker from 2002 to 2006. He was also leader of the
National Convention Party (NCP).
Early life and education
Dibba was the son of Mustapha Dibba, a
Mandinka chief and farmer.
His father would later become the district chief of
Central Baddibu in 1967. He was born in
Salikene, Central Baddibu in January 1937.
He was educated at
Armitage High School and then at the Methodist Boys High School in
Bathurst from 1955 to 1957.
He briefly worked as a clerk for the
United Africa Company
The United Africa Company (UAC) was a British company which principally traded in West Africa during the 20th century.
The United Africa Company was formed in 1929 as a result of the merger of Royal Niger Company, The Niger Company, which had b ...
before resigning in 1959 to work for the recently formed
People's Progressive Party (PPP). There he organized the party's youth wing and was elected to the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
as representative for the Central
Baddibu constituency in the
1962 election.
After the 1966 elections, he was appointed as Minister of Works and Communications and replaced Sheriff Sisay as
Minister of Finance of the Gambia in December 1967.
Vice president
When Gambia became a republic after the
1970 referendum, Dibba was appointed as vice president and continuing to serve as finance minister.
Dibba was the Gambia's first
vice-president
A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...
in 1970. He resigned from that position on 15 September 1972, as a result from the ''butut scandal'', which his younger brother Kutubo was arrested for smuggling Gambian currency and contraband goods to neighbouring
Senegal
Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...
in August 1972 and found to have working out of Sheriff Dibba's official residence, No. 1 Marina. In October 1972, he was appointed as Gambia's first ambassador to the
European Economic Community
The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...
and in July 1974, he was recalled by President Jawara from Brussels and appointed as Minister of Economic Planning and Industrial Development. In late July 1975, Jawara accused Dibba of trying to unseat him through a cabinet revolt and Dibba was dismissed immediately. Dibba was later sacked from the PPP in August 1975.
He later formed the National Convention Party (NCP) in 1975. Following
elections in 1977, the NCP became the main opposition party in the Gambia.
He was arrested in August 1981, along with others NCP members and activists,
and incarcerated for his alleged involvement in the foiled
coup attempt that year, but was freed after 11 months in detention in July 1982.along with others NCP members and activists,
A
presidential election
A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President.
Elections by country
Albania
The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public.
Chile
The p ...
was held on 4 May 1982, months after a constitutional amendment instituting direct election of the country's head of state. Dibba was defeated by incumbent
president
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*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
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Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsident ...
Dawda Jawara
Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara (16 May 1924 – 27 August 2019) was a Gambian politician who served as prime minister from 1962 to 1970, and then as the first President of The Gambia from 1970 to 1994, when he was overthrown by Yahya Jammeh.
Jawa ...
. He ran again as the NCP presidential candidate in
1987
Events January
* January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency.
* January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade.
* January 3 – Afghan leader ...
and
1992
1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General.
* January 6
** The Republ ...
, placing second to Jawara both times.
[Elections in The Gambia]
African Elections Database.
Following the overthrow of the Jawara government in 1994, the NCP and other political parties were banned. The ban on the NCP was lifted in mid-2001 and Dibba contested
the election held on 18 October of that year. He was defeated by incumbent president
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 ...
and placed fourth out of five candidates, winning 3.8% of the vote.
[
Dibba then gave his support to Jammeh and his party, the ]Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction
The Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) is a political party in the Gambia. Founded by army officers who staged the 1994 coup, it was the dominant party of the Gambia from 1996 to 2016 under president Yahya Jammeh.
His ...
, and after the legislative elections
A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...
of January 2002, he was elected Speaker of the National Assembly at the first meeting of the new legislature on 3 February.
A well-known political figure in Gambian politics and a former vice president, Sheriff Mustapha Dibba was detained for nine days in 2006. He was purportedly involved in a plot to overthrow Yahya Jammeh, the president at the time. Dibba was detained after it was alleged that he had participated in an effort to topple the government. But nine days later, he was freed and no official charges were made against him. His detention was a component of a larger campaign against groups seen to pose a threat to Jammeh's authority..
Death
He died from a heart attack at the Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital (RVTH) in Banjul on the morning of 2 June 2008, aged 71, after being hospitalized on 30 May.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dibba, Sheriff Mustapha
Vice-presidents of the Gambia
Finance ministers of the Gambia
Speakers of the National Assembly of the Gambia
1937 births
2008 deaths
National Convention Party (Gambia) politicians
Alumni of Armitage High School
People from North Bank Division
People of Mandinka descent
Prisoners and detainees of the Gambia