28 Facts About Richard Konteh

Richard Konteh was born on February 4,1963 and is a Sierra Leonean educator, public servant, and businessman.

Richard Konteh married his wife Isatu Zama Konteh in 1992.

Richard Konteh taught English and Geography at the Wesleyan Secondary School in Kamakwie for 2 years and lectured at Njala University College from 1993 to 2003.

Richard Konteh was first appointed to Cabinet as Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Development by President Ernest Bai Koroma shortly after his election on 17 September 2007.

Richard Konteh was later appointed Minister of Trade and Industry in 2010, and Chief of Staff in the Office of the President in 2013.

Richard Konteh is currently a candidate for the leadership of the All People's Congress ahead of the 2023 Sierra Leone presidential and parliamentary elections.

Richard Konteh is one of several candidates contesting for the APC leadership.

Richard Konteh has eight siblings, Steven, Agnes, William, Hudson, Elizabeth, Philip and Edna.

Richard Konteh was born into a Christian family in the predominantly Muslim north.

Richard Konteh became a strong Christian and member of the Wesleyan Church in Sierra Leone - a Protestant Christian denomination with presence in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Namibia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Indonesia, Asia, and Australia.

Richard Konteh attended several primary schools in the Northern Region as his father who was a teacher moved many times around the region.

Richard Konteh mostly attended the Wesleyan Church of Sierra Leone Primary Schools in the surrounding villages between Gbendembu and Kamakwie, before his parents sent him to St Francis Secondary School in Makeni where he attended secondary School.

Between 1980 and 1982, Richard Konteh was Assistant Teacher with the Wesleyan Secondary School in Kamakwie.

Richard Konteh furthered his education at the Njala University College in 1986 and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Education.

In 1991, Richard Konteh enrolled for a postgraduate degree in Development Planning and Management, in the faculty of Spatial Planning at the University of Dortmund in Germany.

In 1994, Richard Konteh went on to study Energy Planning and the Environment at the Center for Development and the Environment, University of Oslo, Norway, where he earned a post-graduate diploma.

In 1996, Richard Konteh returned to Sierra Leone and pursued another Master of Arts in Education, specializing in Geography at the Njala University College, University of Sierra Leone.

In-between life and work, Richard Konteh continued to educate himself in short courses and certificates in Small Scale Industries Promotion; Public Relations; Non-violent CONFLICT PREVENTION THROUGH EARLY WARNING AND EARLY RESPONSE; conflict resolution, peacebuilding and reconciliation jointly awarded by the Kroc Institute, University of Notre Dame and Catholic Relief Services conducted at the University of Notre Dame in the United States of America.

Between May 2000 and July 2002, Richard Konteh was the Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist, for the Adventist Development and Relief Agency in Babadorie, Freetown.

Richard Konteh joined the Catholic Relief Services - Sierra Leone in August 2000 as Programme Manager, Monitoring and Evaluation; Justice and Peace.

In 2005, Richard Konteh served as General Secretary of the West African Civil Society Forum.

Richard Konteh is a proprietor of small to medium size businesses in the hospitality industry, education industry, agriculture and real estate in Sierra Leone.

Richard Konteh was first appointed as Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Development in 2007 in the first cabinet of President Ernest Bai Koroma.

In June 2014, Richard Konteh was relieved of his duty as Chief Minister, detained for some time, released on bail and prosecuted for various alleged offences.

Richard Konteh announced his candidacy for the leadership of the All People's Congress ahead of the 2023 Sierra Leone presidential and parliamentary elections.

Richard Konteh is one of many candidates for the APC leadership.

Richard Konteh is considered an underdog by many to the previous APC leader Samura Kamara, who became leader in 2018 by selection by then outgoing president and APC party chairman Ernest Bai Koroma, instead of election - a move that was unpopular with the majority of APC supporters APC ultimately lost the elections to the SLPP.

Richard Konteh and the other aspirants said the party would continue to lose even more support unless there was a change in leadership, and the party would put more effort into promoting unity and taking a new direction to care more about the interests of Sierra Leoneans.