Edward Kesselly

Edward Binyah Kesselly
Minister of Posts and Telecommunications
Assumed office
3 February 1978
PresidentWilliam R. Tolbert, Jr.
Preceded byJ. Jenkins Peel
Personal details
Born1937 (1937)
Died1993 (aged 55–56)
NationalityLiberian
PartyUnity Party

Edward Binyah Kesselly (1937–1993) was a Liberian politician who served in the cabinet of President William R. Tolbert, Jr.. In 1978 he was appointed Minister of Posts and Telecommunications.[1]: 1 

Early life

Edward Binyah Kesselly was born in 1937 in Nyama-Kamadu, Quardu Gboni District, Lofa County, Liberia.

Political career

President Tolbert appointed Kesselly Minister of Posts and Telecommunications on 3 February 1978, succeeding J. Jenkins Peel, who had resigned to become Minister of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism. Prior to his appointment, Kesselly had served for five years as an administrator in that ministry.[1]: 13 

Kesselly was one of the few members of Tolbert's cabinet to survive the 1980 Liberian coup d'état that overthrew the government.[2]

In 1984 he founded the Unity Party, which later became one of Liberia's major political parties.

Death and legacy

Kesselly died in 1993 and was buried in Monrovia. Eighteen years later his remains were reburied in his hometown of Nyama-Kamadu in Quardu Gboni District, Lofa County. Speakers at the reburial ceremony included Bureau of Maritime Authority commissioner Edward Binyah Kesselly Jr., his eldest son, and President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.[3]

The former Camp Schiefflin military installation was later renamed Edward Binyah Kesselly Barracks(EBK) in his honor.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications. Annual Report of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications to the Fourth Session of the Forty Eighth Legislature of the Republic of Liberia: Covering the Operation of the Ministry for the Period October 1, 1977 Through September 30, 1978. Monrovia: Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, 1979.
  2. ^ Sirleaf, Ellen Johnson (2010). This Child Will Be Great. New York: HarperCollins. p. 157.
  3. ^ "He Did Much For Liberia: Ellen Pays Tribute to Dr. Kesselly". Heritage, 2 May 2011: 1/10.
  4. ^ "Liberia: Camp Schefflin Renamed Kessely Camp". AllAfrica. 25 July 2006.