U.S. Liberian Ambassador speaks at Elizabethtown College Oct. 29

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Ambassador Jeremiah C. Sulunteh

ELIZABETHTOWN, PA (10/11/2014)(readMedia)-- With the first person on American soil with Ebola now dead and the viral epidemic continuing to take numerous lives in Africa, the insights of U.S. Liberian Ambassador Jeremiah C. Sulunteh are valuable.

Aside from the deadly virus and global cooperation necessary to combat it, however, the ambassador's focus also is on creating educational opportunities in his home country and rebuilding Liberia after back-to-back civil wars.

Sulunteh visits Elizabethtown College for "Lessons from Liberia: History, Health and Education," a discussion on his country's place in the world and in Africa, educational development and, of course, Ebola. The lecture takes place at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 29, in room 212 of the College's Hoover building.

While in Lancaster County, the ambassador also plans to speak to attendees of a Lancaster Rotary Club lunch. Liberia is home to four Rotary International organizations.

Sulunteh works and lives in the United States as a representative of Liberia. He protects and promotes national interests, maintains diplomacy and supports resolutions. His present emphasis is on educational development and hope for aid from the United States.

In his last visit to West Africa, this spring, he spoke to University of Liberia graduates about how the country's civil war ruined the university and asked alumni to step up to bring life back to the school. Not only is the Ambassador a prominent politician and administrator, but he also is a professor with a career spanning more than 30 years in the areas of administration, teaching and politics.

Sulunteh holds a master's degree in economics from York University in Toronto, Canada; a master's degree in public administration from the American University in Cairo, Egypt; and a bachelor's degree in economics from Cuttington University College in Liberia. Born in Bong County, Liberia, in 1958 to a farmer, he also earned a diploma in agriculture from a vocation school in Kakata, Liberia.

Liberia has had close ties to the United States since its founding by former American slaves in 1847 so, when Sulunteh left Liberia to become ambassador in 2012, he said his move to Washington was intended to strengthen that relationship, interpret Liberia's foreign policy, attract more foreign investment to Liberia, promote treaties between the two countries and help promote cultural ties. Liberia is home to roughly 4 million.

Sulunteh was chosen as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Liberia to the United States of America for his key role in his nation's reconstruction after multiple civil wars that killed more than 250,000 Liberians from 1989 to 2003. During the wars, the United States gave humanitarian aid to support refugees and was a strong supporter in the international community to send peacekeepers to restore democracy.

The ambassador ran for vice presidency of Liberia in 2005 and has noted interest in the 2016 presidential race. Sulunteh and his wife, Kabeh, have three children. He speaks and writes Kpelle, his native tongue, as well as English.

For more information on the event contact CGUP@etown.edu. The cost is free, but reservations are requested.

U.S. Liberian Ambassador Jeremiah C. Sulunteh is available for interviews and media questions immediately before the discussion. Contact Elizabeth Harvey, communications manager, for information at 717-361-6412 or harveye@etown.edu.

Read about additional events at Elizabethtown College.

Elizabethtown College, located in historic Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, is a private coed institution offering more than four dozen liberal arts, fine and performing arts, science and engineering, business, communications and education degrees. Learn more: http://www.etown.edu/about/

Media Contact:

Elizabeth Harvey

Communications Manager

Marketing and Communications

Elizabethtown College

harveye@etown.edu

717-361-6412 (o)

717-371-2631 (c)

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