Monrovia – President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has accepted the resignation of her Legal Advisor, Cllr. Seward M. Cooper to enable him to pursue continued national service in the private sector and in international affairs, the Executive Mansion said on Wednesday.
According to an Executive Mansion release, Cllr. Cooper will be available for consultancy services having served in that capacity for nearly six years months.
“I enjoyed working through the years with a diverse cabinet on matters that could help transform our country in positive ways”, the release quoted Cllr. Cooper.
While in private practice, Cllr. Cooper would focus on corporate, commercial, and international legal matters. The erudite lawyer is currently Chairman of the African Legal Support Facility, an international organization closely aligned to the African Development Bank (AfDB).
Cllr. Seward Cooper’s extensive experience as a corporate and international lawyer has seen him navigate the legal practice in Liberia, the United States, the UK and international organizations including the AfDB.
He said the AfDB as the first Chief Counsel for Governance and later as the first head of the AfBD’s Integrity and Anti-corruption Office.
To his credit, he has written and edited numerous articles and books on law and is a graduate of the prestigious University of Wisconsin Law School, which also produced Liberia’s Mrs. Angie Brooks Randolph, the first African woman President of the United Nations General Assembly.
He has been admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Liberia and the United States of America.
Meanwhile, President Sirleaf has departed the country to attend a World Bank High Level Panel in Washington D.C, the United States of America.
According to an Executive Mansion release, the Liberia leader is expected to be away from the country up to October 10 to participate in a High Level Panel on experiences and perspective on state fragility and the means to address this within the context of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Also, Minister of Justice and Attorney General Cllr. Frederick Cherue will serve as coordinator of the cabinet in consultation with Vice President Joseph Boakai as well as with the President via telephone.