Harry Varney Gboto-Nambi Sherman (born 16 February 1953) is a Liberian politician and the former chairman of the Unity Party. He is currently under OFAC sanctions by the United States.

Early life

Sherman was born on 16 February 1953, in Robertsport,

Grand Cape Mount County Grand Cape Mount is a county in the northwestern portion of the West African nation of Liberia. One of 15 counties that constitute the first-level of administrative division in the nation, it has five districts. Robertsport serves as the capital ...

, and graduated from St. John's Episcopal High School in 1971. He continued his education at

Cuttington University 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-S ...

where he earned a degree in 1975. In 1979, he was awarded a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

at the

Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law is the law school of the University of Liberia in Monrovia, Liberia. Founded in 1951, it is named after former Chief Justice of the Liberian Supreme Court, Louis Arthur Grimes. The school offers a three-year pro ...

at the

University of Liberia The University of Liberia (UL or LU in older versions of abbreviation) is a publicly funded institution of higher learning located in Monrovia, Liberia. Authorized by the national government in 1851, the university opened in 1862 as Liberia Coll ...

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 ...

. Sherman completed his education in 1982 in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

where he earned a

Master of Law A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

. In 2003, Cuttington University of Liberia conferred on him the honorary LLD degree in recognition of his philanthropy, especially his personal financial and material support for higher education in Liberia.

Early career

In 1980, Sherman joined the law firm of Maxwell & Maxwell as an associate, serving as a consulting attorney and a trial lawyer during the tumultuous period that followed the

1980 Liberian coup d'état The 1980 Liberian coup d'état happened on April 12, 1980, when President William Tolbert of Liberia was overthrown and murdered in a violent coup. The coup was staged by an indigenous Liberian faction of the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) u ...

. Although Sherman was a recent graduate from

, he was entrusted to manage the legal affairs of the firm's corporate clients, including Citibank, Chase Manhattan Bank, Tradevco Bank, and BCCI, along with engineering and construction companies Vianini, Leminkainen OY, Societa Lavori Porto Della Torre and Buccimazza Industrial Works.

Politics

By 1997, in the aftermath of the

First Liberian Civil War The First Liberian Civil War was the first of Second Liberian Civil War, two civil wars within the West African nation of Liberia which lasted between 1989 and 1997. President Samuel Doe's regime of totalitarianism and widespread Political cor ...

, Sherman had begun to speak prominently on political matters. A prominent Monrovia lawyer and a partner in the

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise consumer, clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and Obligation, respon ...

of Sherman and Sherman, he garnered front-page newspaper coverage for a speech to the Liberian Business Association denouncing the government for what he saw as non-enforcement of a hiring policy meant to favor Liberian citizens and businesses. Running as the standard bearer of the four-party Coalition for the Transformation of Liberia (COTOL) in the 11 October 2005

presidential elections 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 ...

, Sherman placed fifth out of 22 candidates receiving 7.8% of the vote. He then endorsed

George Weah George Manneh Oppong Weah (born 1 October 1966) is a Liberian politician and former professional Association football, footballer who served as the 25th president of Liberia from 2018 to 2024. Before his election for the presidency, Weah served ...

for the run-off election. Following the merger of his

Liberian Action Party The Liberian Action Party (LAP) was a political party in Liberia. In the country's 1985 elections, LAP candidate Jackson Doe was the leading challenger to incumbent Head of State Samuel Doe. Official results showed that Samuel received a narro ...

into the Unity Party in 2009, Sherman was chosen to become the party's national chair. During the 2014 mid-term senate elections, Sherman was elected senator for Grand Cape Mount County. He won 61.7% of votes, defeating incumbent Abel Massaley and nine others. Despite this result, an electoral complaint filed by rival candidates delayed the admission of Sherman to the Senate when winners of the 2014 elections were certificated on January 5, 2015. However, Sherman and another delayed senator, Bomi County's Morris Saytumah were certificated on February 16, 2017, following a decision by the Supreme Court.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sherman, Varney 1953 births Living people University of Liberia alumni Harvard Law School alumni Cuttington University alumni Candidates for President of Liberia Liberian Action Party politicians People from Grand Cape Mount County Members of the Senate of Liberia 21st-century Liberian politicians