-From Nine to Seven
By Jerromie S. Walters
MONROVIA — President Joseph Nyuma Boakai Sr. has relieved two female ministers from his Cabinet in a reshuffle announced Friday, September 11, 2026, sharply reversing a recent milestone in women’s representation that his administration had celebrated only weeks earlier.
The relief of Madam Geraldine J. George as Minister of National Defense and Madam Magdalene E. Dagoseh as Minister of Commerce and Industry reduces female representation in Liberia’s 19 core ministerial positions from nine to seven, undoing the historic 42.1 percent share achieved after the September 2 reshuffle.
In the new appointments, Cllr. Oswald Natu Tweh will serve as Acting Minister of National Defense, while Mr. Stephen Marka Yekeson Jr. takes over as Acting Minister of Commerce and Industry. Both outgoing ministers, George and Dagoseh, are to be reassigned.
President Boakai also named Honorable Christopher Ben Bailey as Acting Superintendent of Grand Gedeh County, Mr. Mike Khailelu B. Jabateh as Acting Deputy Director General for Publicity at the National Food Assistance Agency, and Mr. Daniel Frank Gould II as a Member of the Board of Commissioners of the Public Procurement and Concessions Commission, subject to confirmation by the Liberian Senate.
In a separate development, the President suspended Mr. Frederick S. Cooper, Deputy Minister for Administration at the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, for 60 days without pay with immediate effect. The suspension, according to the Executive Mansion, is for acts incompatible with his status as a public official.
In his communication to Cooper, President Boakai stressed the critical importance of discipline, integrity and responsible conduct in public service, cautioning all appointed officials to conduct themselves in a manner that reflects the standards and values of his administration. He reiterated that public office is a position of trust and that officials will be held accountable for conduct that undermines the integrity of government or brings public service into disrepute.
From Increase to Decrease:
The September 11 changes follow a September 2 reshuffle in which Boakai elevated women to nine of the 19 core Cabinet posts, up from seven in early 2025, when women held approximately 39 percent of the positions — a figure described at the time as a historic high for female participation in Liberia’s highest decision-making body.
The 19 core Cabinet positions are Foreign Affairs; Finance and Development Planning; State for Presidential Affairs; Justice and Attorney-General; National Defense; Local Government; Minister of State Without Portfolio; Agriculture; Public Works; Health and Social Welfare; Commerce and Industry; Information; Mines and Energy; Labor; Transport; Gender, Children and Social Protection; Education; Posts and Telecommunications; and Youth and Sports.
With the latest changes, seven women remain in the Cabinet. They are Sara Beysolow Nyanti, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Dean of the Cabinet, a former UN Assistant Secretary-General with nearly three decades of global governance and peacebuilding experience who led Liberia’s successful campaign for a non-permanent UN Security Council seat for the 2026–2027 term; Dr. Louise Mapleh Kpoto, Minister of Health, a physician-obstetrician holding a PhD in Tropical Medicine and a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology who was inducted as a Fellow of the West African College of Surgeons in February 2025; and Dr. Jarso Maley Jallah, Minister of Education and a UNESCO Executive Board member who has implemented free public primary education from Kindergarten through Grade 6 beginning with the 2026–2027 academic year.
The others are Gbeme Horace-Kollie, Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, who has prioritized decentralizing operations to county levels and expediting cases of sexual and gender-based violence through technology and specialized legal mechanisms; Atty. Cornelia Wonkerleh Kruah, Minister of Youth and Sports, who at 35 became the youngest person to hold the position, bringing experience from the Ministry of State and Ministry of Education; Hadja Mamaka Bility, Minister of State Without Portfolio, who oversees the President’s Delivery Unit, chairs the Liberia Corporation for Strategic Investment and is spearheading efforts to establish a National Peace, Reconciliation and Memorial Museum; and Cllr. Betty Muslyn Lamin-Blamo, Minister-designate of Justice, a Columbia University LL.M. graduate and former Solicitor General awaiting Senate confirmation to succeed Cllr. N. Oswald Tweh.
Lamin-Blamo’s appointment comes as the Ministry of Justice confronts heightened public scrutiny over high-profile criminal investigations, anti-corruption cases and narcotics-related matters.
