Liberia’s President Joseph Boakai has appointed a retired female Brigadier General, Geraldine George, as the acting minister of defence after wives of soldiers forced the resignation of her predecessor, through protests.
Brigadier General George’s appointment is the first time a woman will serve in such a capacity, it is however unclear why Mrs George was appointed only in an acting capacity.
She was conscripted into the army in 2006 following a civil war and rose to become part of the elite forces. She was deputy chief of staff for the last six years.
After President Boakai’s swearing-in as president on January, 22, she was appointed as the deputy for administration in the Ministry of defence.
Her elevation comes after Defence Minister Prince Charles Johnson III resigned following protests by the wives of soldiers on Monday.
Although Prince Charles Johnson III’s appointment was confirmed by Liberia’s senate last week, demonstrations forced him to step down.
The women said that as the former chief of staff of the armed forces, he was responsible for low salaries and poor living conditions in the military barracks.
The women blocked several roads in the capital, Monrovia, and elsewhere in the country, forcing President Boakai to cancel National Army Day celebrations on Monday. Boakai became President after narrowly defeating the incumbent, George Weah, in a run-off election last November as neither of them secured an outright majority in the first round of voting.