Madam Ella Koblo Gulama MBE; OBE, MRSL was the first elected female member of parliament in Sierra Leone and the first woman to hold a ministerial position in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Queen Ella started to work very hard and made her kingdom one of the best in the country.
She empowered women in her kingdom, brought formal education to Kaiyamba kingdom, supported girl child education, made major reforms in the fight against women’s violence, and many other positive reforms that brought light and hope to the people of Kaiyamba kingdom.
Her progressive rule and ethical leadership qualities gave her a deserving place in Sir Milton Margai’s government as she became the first woman in the history of Sierra Leone, the second woman in Africa after Mabel Dove Danquah, to be elected as a member of parliament.
Queen Ella Koblo Gulama represented Sierra Leone abroad and her travels took her all over Africa, Europe, North America and the Middle East. In 1957 as a guest of the State Department, she toured the United States for 4 months during which she met with Vice-President Richard Nixon.
Queen Ella Koblo Gulama served in the House of Representatives as Paramount Chief Member for Moyamba District for seven years before she was elected a cabinet Minister – the first woman in Sierra Leone and the first in Sub-Saharan Africa to hold a ministerial position.
Queen Ella Koblo Gulama became the President of the Federation of Women’s Organization in Sierra Leone from 1960 to 1967.