Cllr. Oswald Tweh Sworn In as Acting Defense Minister, Vows Focus on Soldier Welfare
Members of the Armed Forces of Liberia honor guard at Barclay Training Center, Monrovia (file photo, 2012; illustrative, not the actual turnover ceremony). Photo: Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS), public domain, via Picryl.
President Boakai has appointed former Justice Minister Cllr. N. Oswald Tweh as Acting Minister of National Defense, filling the post vacated by Geraldine George and outlining three priorities including AFL soldier welfare.
Cllr. N. Oswald Tweh formally assumed duties as Acting Minister of National Defense at a turnover ceremony held September 16 at Barclay Training Center in Monrovia. Tweh, a lawyer who previously served as Minister of Justice and Attorney General and who led the Liberian National Bar Association in 2007, takes over the post vacated when Brigadier General (Ret.) Geraldine J. George was reassigned earlier this month, a move that had drawn public pushback from a coalition of Liberian women's rights groups demanding clarity on where she would land next.
At the handover, President Joseph Boakai's administration commended George for her "trailblazing leadership, dedication, and historic service" as the country's first woman to lead the Ministry of National Defense, even as her next assignment remains unannounced. Tweh, addressing troops and officials at the ceremony, said he stood before them "with a profound sense of humility, duty, and patriotism as I formally assume the role of Acting Minister of National Defense."
Tweh outlined three priorities for his tenure. First, institutional continuity: supporting the rollout of a newly launched five-year strategic plan that widens the Armed Forces of Liberia's mandate beyond territorial defense to include disaster resilience and humanitarian assistance. Second, soldier welfare and capability, which he called the ministry's most urgent concern, pledging adequate equipment, healthcare and recognition for AFL personnel: "The well-being of our men and women in uniform is paramount." Third, strengthening civil-military relations through what he described as mutual respect, transparency and accountability between the armed forces and the communities they serve.
The appointment is Tweh's second senior post under Boakai in as many years and lands the defense portfolio in the hands of a career lawyer rather than a security-sector veteran, a pairing the administration will need to justify if AFL morale or capability concerns resurface. It also leaves one more open thread from this month's reshuffle: with Tweh now confirmed at Defense and Stephen Yekeson already installed at Commerce, only Geraldine George's and Magdalene Dagoseh's eventual landing spots remain unresolved.