Geraldine Doe-Sheriff, a member of the Honorable Liberian Senate, died last Saturday at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra, Ghana where she had been hospitalized to treat cancer which she had been battling with for over a year. She was 6 days short of her 52nd birth anniversary. To fill a vacancy created by the death of Senator Hannah Brent of the CDC, she was elected on the ticket of the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) in 2009. She later threw her weight behind presidential candidate Joseph N. Boakai in the 2017 presidential elections. Her current term was set to expire in 2021.
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The government and people of Liberia are deeply troubled by the grief-stricken news of the death of Montserrado County Senator Geraldine Doe-Sheriff, said President George Manneh Weah in a statement issued by the Executive Mansion, according to a LINA report yesterday.
It was reported that the senator, who died in Ghana on February 8, had battled cancer for more than a year.
In his words of condolence on the passing of the stateswoman, the President said: “Our Government was engulfed yet again, with the sad news of the death of another patriot, Senator Geraldine Doe-Sheriff, one of the pillars of our contemporary women movement.”
He described the demise of the senator as a big blow not only to her family and Liberian Senate, but to women in leadership and girls and women who are aspiring to be great leaders of tomorrow, adding that she was a great inspiration to many women who felt that there was no hope for them in a patriarchal society.
The Chief Executive could not agree more that the senator was one of the Liberians who championed the cause for women empowerment and motivated many women to step up into leadership roles by paving the way for women to rise to the fore and become voices of reason within the political spectrum when she rose to become chairperson of the Congress For Democratic Change (now the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change).
“Today, as we mourn the death of this exemplary public servant with great anguish, let me join my voice with the many others, on behalf of the Government and in my own name, in expressing to the Doe and Sheriff families, as well as the Liberian Senate, my deepest and heartfelt condolences as we endure this time of distress and grief.
“It is my utmost prayer that God will grant the bereaved family and all those mourning this great loss the strength and fortitude to go through this time of desolation,” the President said.
“Senator Doe-Sheriff fought a great fight. Her impeccable record of service to nation and contributions to women uplifting will always be remembered and celebrated. May her soul rest in perfect peace and may light perpetual shine on her. Rest on, Senator Doe! Rest On!” he added.
The late Senator chaired the Committee on Transport and co-chaired the Committee on Commerce, Trade, and Industry. She also previously served as a member of the Ways, Means, Finance & Budget Committee; Social Security, Pension and Insurance; Public Accounts and Audits; Education and Public Administration.