Tamba John Sylvanus Lamina is a

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 ...

an politician and diplomat. He is the current Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (Sierra Leone), Minister of Local Government and Rural Development in the cabinet of

Julius Maada Bio Julius Maada Wonie Bio (born 12 May 1964) is a Sierra Leonean politician, and the current president of Sierra Leone since 4 April 2018. He is a retired brigadier general in the Sierra Leone Army and was the military head of state of Sierra Le ...

, serving since 2019.

Early life

Born in

Koidu Koidu Town (or Sefadu) is the capital and largest city of the diamond-rich Kono District in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone. The population of Koidu Town is 124,6based on the 2015 Sierra Leone national census. Koidu Town is the fifth larg ...

, he is a member of the Kono ethnic group. After attending the prestigious

Bo School The Bo Government Secondary School commonly known as Bo School is a secondary school located on a property in the center of Bo, the second largest city in Sierra Leone. The school was founded in 1906 at the behest of the British colonial gover ...

, he received bachelor's degrees in politics, philosophy & history and in education from

Fourah Bay College Fourah Bay College is a public university in the neighbourhood of Mount Aureol in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Founded on 18 February 1827, it is the first western-style university built in Sub-Saharan Africa and, furthermore, the first university- ...

in 1986 and 1987, respectively. He moved to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, where he studied journalism at the

London School of Journalism The London School of Journalism (LSJ) is an independent journalism school based in London, England, which offers qualifications in journalism, freelance journalism and creative writing. The LSJ provides both on-site and distance learning to it ...

and became a registered nurse. He then received his

PgDip A postgraduate diploma (PgD, PgDip, PGDip, PG Dip., PGD, Dipl. PG, PDE) is a postgraduate qualification awarded after a university degree, which supplements the original degree and awards them with a graduate diploma. Countries that award postg ...

in gerontology from

Oxford Brooks University Oxford Brookes University (formerly known as Oxford Polytechnic) is a public university in Oxford, England. It is a new university, having received university status through the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. The university was named a ...

in 1997. Lastly, he received his MSc in leadership in healthcare from King's College London in 2006. While in the United Kingdom, he worked in various leadership and managerial positions for both the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

and the private sector. He has served as chair of the Kono District Descendants Association,

Sierra Leone People’s Party The Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) is one of the two major political parties in Sierra Leone, along with its main political rival the All People's Congress (APC). It has been the ruling party in Sierra Leone since April 4, 2018. The SLPP d ...

UK branch and the Old Bo Boys’ Association. He also chaired the

Support Group UK, which led to his entry into national politics.

Political career

Lamina was approved as

Sierra Leonean High Commissioner to the United Kingdom The Sierra Leonean High Commissioner to the United Kingdom is the official representative of the Government of Sierra Leone to the Government of the United Kingdom. *The Sierra Leone High Commissioner to the Court of St James's is also commissio ...

by Parliament in August 2018. In February 2019, Lamina hosted a Sierra Leonean diplomatic mission to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. He met with

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

to discuss development, and then delivered a speech announcing the break of "a new dawn" in Sierra Leonean history. In May 2019, President

reshuffled his cabinet, and Lamina's was promoted from High Commissioner to Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (Sierra Leone), Minister of Local Government and Rural Development. He was approved by

members of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members oft ...

at his new position on June 27, 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lamina, Tamba Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Sierra Leonean politicians Sierra Leonean diplomats High Commissioners of Sierra Leone to the United Kingdom Government ministers of Sierra Leone Sierra Leonean nurses Fourah Bay College alumni Alumni of the London School of Journalism Alumni of Oxford Brookes University Alumni of King's College London People from Koidu