Dr Ahmed A. Sannoh has served for twenty years in the Office of National Security and was among the first batch recruited into the institution in 2001 after briefly serving as an Administrative Officer in the Civil Service of Sierra Leone.
He has acted as National Security Coordinator on a number of occasions between 2015 and 2019. He also has over fifteen years of university teaching and research experience at Fourah Bay College, the University of Liberia, and Njala University as an Associate Lecturer.
Academically, Dr Sannoh holds BA and MA degrees in English and Linguistics and a PhD in Peace and Development Studies.
Professionally, he has undertaken advanced courses in national and international security issues, governance and human security in Africa, managing defence in the wider security context, strategic planning and policy development, and defence resource management.
These courses were pursued through institutions including the International Centre for National Security Studies in Israel, Cranfield University in the United Kingdom, the Naval Postgraduate School in California, the Institute for Security Studies African Centre for Peace and Security Training in Addis Ababa, and the Kofi Annan Peacekeeping Training Centre in Ghana.
He has special interest in security threat analyses, conflict management, post-conflict peacebuilding and stabilisation, writing and editing, inter-agency coordination, and institutional reform processes tied to good governance and service delivery.
Dr Sannoh has worked at the highest levels of government, closely collaborating with heads of intelligence, police, and military organisations in Sierra Leone and with security and development partners from the United Kingdom, the United States, and elsewhere.
He played a key role in the development of a number of security sector policy documents and led the process of reviewing Military Aid to the Civil Authority, a high-level policy direction for military assistance to the civil power.
As Chairman of the National Security Exercise Writing and Planning Team, he coordinated the successful conduct of eight national security exercises mainly targeting platinum and gold levels between 2005 and 2019.
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Participated in a 2009 case studies workshop at King’s College London on post-conflict state building.
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Led the Government of Sierra Leone delegation to the 2015 World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai, Japan, and presented the country report.
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Belongs to international networks and alumni communities including ASSN, Stratford Global Intelligence Network, and the IVLP on International Security Issues.
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Appointed in 2019 to the Advisory Committee of the Sierra Leone National Commission for Small Arms.
