Valentine Strasser

Valentine Esegragbo Melvine Strasser (born 26 April 1967) is a Sierra Leonean former military officer who served as the head of state of Sierra Leone from 1992 to 1996. He became the world's youngest head of state in 1992, seizing power three days after his 25th birthday. Strasser was born and raised in the neighbourhood of Allen Town in the east end of Sierra Leone's capital Freetown to Creole parents. He enlisted in the Republic of Sierra Leone Military Forces (RSLMF) at age eighteen, immediately after graduating from secondary school. In the context of the Sierra Leone Civil War which had erupted in the previous year, he led a coup d'état in 1992 which overthrew president Joseph Saidu Momoh. He then established the National Provisional Ruling Council (NPRC) military junta. During the war, he hired Executive Outcomes, a South African mercenary firm to repel the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebel group. As the war continued, after nearly four years in power, Strasser was ousted in a second military coup in 1996, led by his deputy, Brigadier General Julius Maada Bio. Following his overthrow, he lived in England where he unsuccessfully sought asylum. He later unsuccessfully attempted to enter the Gambia in 2000 before eventually returning to Sierra Leone.