Joe Blell
Encyclopedia
Joseph "Joe" Blell is a Sierra Leonean politician from the opposition Sierra Leone People's Party
. He served as Sierra Leone's high commissioner
to Nigeria
from 2002 to 2007. He was also Sierra Leone's duputy Minister of Defense from 1996 until the government was ousted in a military coup in 1997. Joe Blell was born in Sierra Leone to a Sierra Leonean-Lebanese
father of mixed Lebanese
and Sierra Leonean ancestry and an indigenous
mother from the Mende
ethnic group.
Amb. Joe C. Blell was the Deputy Minister of Defense from 2002-2007(President Tejan-Kabbah was the Substantive Minister). Amb.Blell, the defacto Minister was the Pivot of the Restructuring Programme of the Republic Of Sierra Leone Armed Forces. An Armed Force that was decimated by the Rebel War and now a Force to be recorned with. It was during this period that the Force was reduced from a War Time High of over 20,000 to just over 8000 at present. Before that he served as Sierra Leone High Commissioner to Federal Republic of Nigeria and accredited to Multiple Counties-Ghana, Benin, Togo, Equatorial Guinea and Republic of Congo. Amb. Blell was also accredited to the Economic Community of West African States(ECOWAS) 1997-2002
He was the Team Manager of the National Football Team(Leone Stars) that qualified for the African Cup of Nations in 1994(Tunisia) and also won the African Zone II Football Trophy for the first time in Dec. 1993.
Prior to his appointment as the Sierra Leone High Commissioner to The Federal Republic of Nigeria, he was the Regional Director of The Canadian University Services Overseas(CUSO) to Nigeria based in Kano and later Kaduna in Northern Nigeria. 1979-1985
Sierra Leone People's Party
Sierra Leone People's Party is one of the two major political parties in Sierra Leone, along with the All People's Congress .-Formation:...
. He served as Sierra Leone's high commissioner
High Commissioner (Commonwealth)
In the Commonwealth of Nations, a High Commissioner is the senior diplomat in charge of the diplomatic mission of one Commonwealth government to another.-History:...
to Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
from 2002 to 2007. He was also Sierra Leone's duputy Minister of Defense from 1996 until the government was ousted in a military coup in 1997. Joe Blell was born in Sierra Leone to a Sierra Leonean-Lebanese
Sierra Leonean-Lebanese
-Migration history:Lebanese immigrants first came to West Africa in the mid-19th century when a silk-worm crisis struck their homeland, then part of the Ottoman Empire; the first Lebanese arrived in Sierra Leone in 1893. The first groups were Maronite Christians, but beginning in 1903, Shia Muslim...
father of mixed Lebanese
Lebanese people
The Lebanese people are a nation and ethnic group of Levantine people originating in what is today the country of Lebanon, including those who had inhabited Mount Lebanon prior to the creation of the modern Lebanese state....
and Sierra Leonean ancestry and an indigenous
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
mother from the Mende
Mende people
The Mende people are one of the two largest and most dominant ethnic group in Sierra Leone, along with the Temne. The Mende make up 30% of Sierra Leone's total population or 1,932,015 members...
ethnic group.
Amb. Joe C. Blell was the Deputy Minister of Defense from 2002-2007(President Tejan-Kabbah was the Substantive Minister). Amb.Blell, the defacto Minister was the Pivot of the Restructuring Programme of the Republic Of Sierra Leone Armed Forces. An Armed Force that was decimated by the Rebel War and now a Force to be recorned with. It was during this period that the Force was reduced from a War Time High of over 20,000 to just over 8000 at present. Before that he served as Sierra Leone High Commissioner to Federal Republic of Nigeria and accredited to Multiple Counties-Ghana, Benin, Togo, Equatorial Guinea and Republic of Congo. Amb. Blell was also accredited to the Economic Community of West African States(ECOWAS) 1997-2002
He was the Team Manager of the National Football Team(Leone Stars) that qualified for the African Cup of Nations in 1994(Tunisia) and also won the African Zone II Football Trophy for the first time in Dec. 1993.
Prior to his appointment as the Sierra Leone High Commissioner to The Federal Republic of Nigeria, he was the Regional Director of The Canadian University Services Overseas(CUSO) to Nigeria based in Kano and later Kaduna in Northern Nigeria. 1979-1985
External links
- http://news.sl/drwebsite/publish/article_20051610.shtml
- http://news.sl/drwebsite/publish/article_2005501.shtml