Strasser, who was born on April 26, 1967, became the president of Sierra Leone on April 29, 1992, just a few days after celebrating his 25th birthday.
But unlike most African presidents who were born into wealthy and privileged families, Valentine Strasser did not have a privileged upbringing.
Strasser, who is now 56 years old, did not have the same high-quality education as many wealthy Africans who gain influential positions.
After finishing high school, Strasser joined the army when he was 18 years old. Eight years later, he slept and ate in the State House as the leader of the country.
After ruling for almost four years, Strasser lost his position as leader in Sierra Leone’s second military coup. Brigadier General Julias Maada Bio took over in January 1996.
After Strasser lost his position of power, he was given an opportunity by the UN to study law in England. Strasser was good at science and math in high school. He was a former president who decided to go back to school. However, he quit the University of Warwick after only 18 months.
In 2000, Strasser asked England for protection, but they said no. He went to the Gambia but they wouldn’t let him in.
Feeling very sad and destroyed, the previous leader of the country, who no longer had a country or a home, eventually went back to Sierra Leone. There, he lived in a state of being very poor and only receiving a small amount of money as his retirement income.
The amount of money Strasser was earning was very small, so he decided to get another job as a teacher at a computer skills institute for young people.
In January 2019, Strasser became very sick and was taken to Ghana by airplane for medical care. Doctors had to remove a body part because of a disease in the blood vessels.
After getting better, the former leader who didn’t have a home, went back to Sierra Leone in July 2021. To his surprise, he received a present which was a house from President Bio who had previously removed him from his position.
Although we haven’t heard much about him recently, there are unconfirmed reports that Strasser, who was once the youngest leader in the world and used to be homeless, is now being confined to his house by authorities.