Ambassador Dr. Alhaji Osman Foday Yansaneh (born 15th JUNE,1948) is a Sierra Leonean politician who has been Secretary-General of the All People’s Congress political party, the ruling party in Sierra Leone, since 2012. Yansaneh is a close ally and senior advisor to President Ernest Bai Koroma. A Fourah Bay College graduate with a Bachelor of Laws, Yansaneh is a long time member of the APC party, and was a personal assistant to President Joseph Saidu Momoh, before the Momoh government was overthrown in a 1992 military coup. He served as Sierra Leone’s Ambassador to Ghana before he was elected Secretary-General of the APC party in 2012. Yansaneh is a senior member of the APC party, and a member of the APC Advisory Council, which is made up of the most senior members of the APC. Dr. Yansaneh was born in KAMAKWIE, SELLA LIMBA CHIEFDOM, KARENE DISTRICT in Sierra Leone.
EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION
Amb. Dr. Alhaji Osman Foday Yansaneh was born in Kamakwie, Sella Limba chiefdom, Karene District in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. Dr. Yansaneh was born to very religious Muslim parents; and he himself is a devoted Muslim.
He gained his primary education at the DISTRICT COUNCIL SCHOOL, KAMAKWIE, Karene District. He furthered his Secondary school at the KAMAKWIE WESLEYAN SECONDARY SCHOOL, KAMAKWIE (a Christian funded school, that was and still open to people of all religion). Dr. Yansaneh was a class prefect, and is considered one of the most brilliant students in the school’s history evident as he was the first student from the Kamakwie Wesleyan secondary school to pass his GCE examination. He was then given an academic scholarship where he gained a B. A DIP. ED – at FOURAH BAY COLLEGE, UNIVERSITY OF SIERRA LEONE. Upon graduation from Fourah Bay College, Yansaneh was employed as a teacher Kamakwie Wesleyan secondary school (the school he attended) After serving as a teacher at the Kamakwie Wesleyan secondary for a while, He went to Romania to further his studies and returned home with a DIPLOMA IN POLITICAL ECONOMY from the UNIVERSITY OF ROMANIA after which he was promoted to the position of Principal at the said school. Upon his appointment as Sierra Leone’s High Commissioner to Ghana, he obtained a Law degree from the University of Ghana, Legon. In 2019, He received an HONORARY DOCTORATE from the COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY OF BELISE.
Political career
Dr. Yansaneh’s political career started at his youthful age, from being a founding member of the STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE COUNCIL (SRC) at Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone – to serving as the secretary general of the Fourah BAY College Students’ union government. He later served as the MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS as well as MINISTER OF CULTURE under the FBC STUDENTS’ UNION Government. During his stay on the shores of Mount Aureole, he also served as the PRESIDENT FOURAH BAY COLLEGE STUDENT MUSLIM ASSOCIATION.
It is no doubt that Yansaneh was pretty active in student politics during his university days as he served in key organs that were in one way or the other involved in the day-to-day running of student affairs.
Amb Yansaneh continued his political career, away from student politics by serving as a pooling agent for the APC in the 1962 Presidential elections. In the mid-1960s, he went on to serve as the APC youth leader for his constituency. He was further elected as constituency chairman for the then Bombali North. He gained admission into Fourah bay college after the 1967 election and became the secretary general for the APC youth league, Fourah Bay College.
In the late 1970s, he became an executive member of the APC Bombali district. In the 2000s, he became acting secretary general of the APC and following the 2002 National Delegates Conference, he became the substantive secretary general of the Party.
