H.E. Dr. Julius Maada Bio

His Excellency Julius Maada Bio, President of the Republic of Sierra Leone, brings more than three decades of engagement in peace and security, spanning regional peacekeeping, democratic transition, post-conflict leadership and regional diplomacy.

His early experience in peace and security included service with the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) in Liberia, one of West Africa's pioneering regional peace support operations. This formative experience provided first-hand exposure to the complexities of armed conflict, regional peacekeeping and the importance of political processes in securing sustainable peace.

As Head of State of Sierra Leone in 1996, at a critical stage of the country's civil war, President Bio's Government initiated substantive peace negotiations with the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), helping to open a political pathway towards resolving the conflict through dialogue. During the same period, his government held multiparty elections, after which he transferred power to the democratically elected Government of President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah.