Liberia: Varney Sherman Named Nat’l Orator

Sherman is also a Unity Party stalwart

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has named Cllr. H. Varney Sherman, as Orator for Liberia’s 166th Independence Day.

Cllr. Sherman is expected to speak at the formal Independence Day Indoor Program to be held in Tubmanburg, Bomi County on July 26, 2013, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced last night. 

A prominent Monrovia lawyer and a partner in the law firm of Sherman and Sherman, Cllr. Sherman currently serves as national chairman of the ruling Unity Party.

According to the Foreign Ministry, unlike in the recent past when the Independence Day celebrations were hosted by a particular county, this year’s celebrations will be hosted by three western counties – Bomi, Grand Cape Mount, and Gbarpolu.

Cllr. Sherman was born on February 16, 1953, in Robertsport, Grand Cape Mount County and graduated from St. John's Episcopal High School in 1971. He continued his education at Cuttington University where he earned a degree in 1975. In 1979, he was awarded a Bachelor of Laws at the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law at the University of Liberia in Monrovia. Sherman completed his education in 1982 in the United States where he earned a Master of Law at Harvard Law School.

Running as the standard bearer of the four-party Coalition for the Transformation of Liberia (COTOL) in the 11 October 2005 presidential elections, Sherman placed fifth out of 22 candidates, receiving 7.8% of the vote.

Following the merger of his Liberian Action Party into the Unity Party in 2009, Sherman was chosen to become the national chairman of the party.

The celebrations, which will be characterized by a number of festive activities, will also include the dedication of several development projects in the three counties by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf between July 22nd   and 25th, , 2013.

This year’s Independence Day Celebrations will kick-off on Friday, July 19 with a Prayer Service to be held at a mosque in either Bomi or Grand Cape Mount County and will be officiated by a prominent Imam who will be selected shortly by Muslim members of the Independence Day Committee. 

The Foreign Ministry said a Thanksgiving and Intercessory Service will take place on Sunday July 21, 2013 in Tubmanburg City, Bomi County at a local Church. Bishop Stephen Benda of the Sinkor Pentecostal Church, who is also a prominent citizen of Gbarpolu County, will deliver the discourse at the Thanksgiving and Intercessory Service.