Cyril Foray

Professor Cyril Patrick Foray
6th Foreign Minister of Sierra Leone
In office 1969–1971
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Preceded by	Luseni A.M. Brewah
Succeeded by	Solomon Athanasius James Pratt
Personal details
Born	March 16, 1934 Rotifunk, Moyamba, Sierra Leone
Died	July 31, 2003 Freetown, Sierra Leone
Nationality	Sierra Leonean
Political party	All People's Congress (APC)
Spouse(s)	Arabella
Religion	Christianity (Roman Catholic)

Professor Cyril Patrick Foray (16 March 1934 – 31 July 2003) was a Sierra Leonean educator, politician, diplomat and historian.

Early life

Foray was a graduate of the renowned St. Edward's Secondary School.^[1]

Public service

Professor Foray was widely considered one of the most respected and accomplished men of his generation. He spent his life serving his country in a variety of roles.

Cabinet Minister

Foray was a member of the All People's Congress (APC) party of Sierra Leone. He served as a cabinet minister to Siaka Stevens.^[2]

Foreign Minister

Foray was appointed Sierra Leone's Foreign Minister from 1969 to 1971.^[3] After an alleged coup attempt by Foray's close friend Brigadier John Bangura, Stevens asked for his resignation.

High Commissioner to the Court of St. James

He served as the Sierra Leone High Commissioner to the Court of St. James's in London under two governments: Valentine Strasser's short-lived NPRC military regime and Ahmad Tejan Kabbah's.^[3]

Real Estate Debacle

By the time Foray arrived at his new post in London, years of corruption and the astronomical cost of the Sierra Leone Civil War depleted the financial resources of the government.^[4] The office of the Sierra Leone High Commission were located at the exclusive address of 33 Portland Place in Mayfair.^[4] However when Foray took up residence at the 5 story mansion it had fallen in to a state of hazardous disrepair.^[4] More than one ceiling had caved in and the Sierra Leonean government was unable to cover the cost of restorations and even the most basic maintenance.^[4] Because of the deteriorating state of the property, the landlord threatened to eviction. Before it came to this, Foray decided to downsize and downscale so that he could successfully run the high commission on the limited budget available to him.^[4] The remaining 20 years on the lease were sold for £50 000 to Edward Davenport's property development firm Capricorn Investments.^[4]

Outraged by the paltry profit from the sale the Sierra Leonean government sued Capricorn Investments and accused Davenport of being a war profiteer.^[5] Foray resigned from office on Friday, April 28, 2000.^[4] The Sierra Leonean government proceeded to file a suit against him in 2000. However, the government lost both cases when it was proven that Capricorn Investments paid a fair price for the dilapidated 24 room mansion.^[6] Professor Foray was cleared of any wrongdoing when the court determined that at the time of the sale the property at 33 Portland Place was in need of several million pounds worth of repairs.^[6]

Scholar

Foray was always passionate about education and teaching. He was appointed head of the history department at Fourah Bay College^[2] and later became Chancellor.^[3]

Historian

Foray is the author of several history books, including: An Outline of Fourah Bay College History (1827-1977) and The Road to the One-Party State: The Sierra Leone Experience^[7] and Historical Dictionary of Sierra Leone.^[8]

Death

On 31 July 2003, Professor Foray suffered a massive heart attack and died in Freetown, Sierra Leone.^[3]

Further reading

• An Outline of Fourah Bay College History (1827-1977) by C.P. Foray (Freetown, 1979)
• The Road to the One-Party State: The Sierra Leone Experience by Cyril Foray (Africanus Horton Memorial Lecture, University of Aberdeen, November 9, 1988)

References

1. ^ Sierra Leone Net News Archive of Freetown. He read history at Fourah Bay College.
2. ^ ^{a b} Historical Dictionary of Sierra Leone by Christopher Fyfe
3. ^ ^{a b c d} Sierra Leone Net News Archive
4. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} High Commissioner quits after selling embassy for £50,000 by Christopher Lockwood, Telegraph.co.uk, 3 May 2000
5. ^ High Commissioner quits after selling embassy for £50,000
6. ^ ^{a b} News - Telegraph
7. ^ SERSAS
8. ^ authorandbookinfo.com

Preceded by Luseni A.M. Brewah	Foreign Minister of Sierra Leone 1969-1972	Succeeded by Solomon Athanasius James Pratt
Preceded by unknown	High Commissioner to the Court of St. James's 1998-2000	Succeeded by unknown
Preceded by unknown	Chancellor of Forah Bay College 1969-1972	Succeeded by unknown

Persondata
Name	Foray, Cyril
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	March 16, 1934
Place of birth	Rotifunk, Moyamba, Sierra Leone
Date of death	July 31, 2003
Place of death	Freetown, Sierra Leone