Valentine Strasser: From Youngest President to Life in Poverty

In 1992, at just 25 years old, Valentine Strasser became the world’s youngest head of state after leading a military coup in Sierra Leone. He ruled the country from 1992 to 1996.

During his time in power, Strasser reportedly hid funds in Western countries under his wife’s name. However, his reign was cut short when he was ousted in another military coup in 1996. Following his removal from office, his wife divorced him, and his request for asylum in the United Kingdom was denied.

Today, Strasser lives in poverty with his mother in a dilapidated flat in the village of Grafton. Once a powerful leader, he now survives on a government pension of just $42 per month and is frequently seen drinking alcohol by the roadside.

His story remains one of the most striking rises and falls in modern African political history.