Arthur B. Dennis

Who is Arthur B. Dennis?

Arthur B. Dennis, nicknamed "Academic" is residing in Atlantic City, New Jersey where he works as Youth Advisor in a Social work agency called Covenant House. He holds a Bachelor of Public Administration (BPA) from the University of Liberia, and a Master of Public Administration (MPA) from the University of Legon in Ghana, all based in West Africa. His academic credentials have been evaluated and certified by the New York-based World Education Service to be equivalent to U. S. degree standards. He also holds two social work certificates from Rutgers University in New Jersey: one in Case Management, and the other in Youth Development.
Mr. Dennis was born in Kparblee Chiefdom in Tappita District, Nimba County where he obtained his early education. On August 15, 1962 he was enlisted as a recruit in the Regular Army of the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) at age 16 and later rose to the rank of Colonel. On February 9, 1998, he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General, decorated and retired for long service. Presently, he is Liberia's only Military Historian and Defense Research Consultant.

His military job-career experience includes combat intelligence and psychological warfare operations Specialist; Executive Officer Company, "A" Second Infantry Battalion, AFL; Instructor of Military Science, Department of ROTC, University of Liberia; and Deputy Commandant for Academic Affairs, Tubman Military Academy.

His civilian job experience includes Assistant Minister/Special Assistant, Ministry of Rural Development; Assistant Minister for Public Affairs, Ministry of Defense; Deputy Minister for Administration, Ministry of Finance; Deputy Minister for Research and Planning, Ministry of Education; and Assistant Minister for Administration, Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism.
After obtaining his Master of Public Administration in July 1984, he taught at the University of Liberia for over a year and published two books as well as a large volume of study materials to be used by students doing courses in Military Science under the Department of ROTC. He has over 22 years of experience in research writing and publications.

While at home in Liberia, Mr. Dennis chaired a number of presidential and ministerial committees and published several national policy documents. In October 1991, he chaired the Defense Ministerial Committee appointed to identify and remove ghost names from Defense payrolls; in June 1998, he chaired the Technical Committee of the Restructuring Commission appointed by the President to formulate Policy Guidelines and Procedures for the Demobilization and Reorganization of the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL). and in July 1998, he was a Defense Research Consultant and member of the United Nations inter-agency Technical Committee for the destruction of millions of weapons and ammunitions used in the Liberian Civil War. .

In July 2003, he participated in writing of the Geneva Peace Accords as well as the Cotonou Peace Agreement. In June 1994, he attended a two-week conflict management conference in Cairo, Egypt. On September 12 of the same year, he chaired the Technical Committee appointed in Ghana by ECOWAS to write the first Akosombo Peace Agreement (later renamed Abuja Accords) which ended the first round of the Liberian civil war that ushered in the elected government in August 1997.

Mr. Dennis is the founder and former President for the Self-Help Community grassroot Organization called "Korwro Development and Social Welfare Club" which (between 1976-1983) built schools and constructed roads in his birthplace (Kparblee) and other areas in Tappita District, Nimba County. He is also founder and former President of the Society for the Promotion of Liberian-American Relations (SOPLAR). On March 17, 1998, SOPLAR, under his leadership, hosted a lecture forum where the U. S Charge D' Affairs Donald Peterson took the cat out of the bag that as far as U. S. foreign policy agenda was concerned in the post-cold war global community, Liberia was no longer important to U. S national security interest. The details of his speech will be published in the near future.

Mr. Dennis is a regular contributor of articles to Liberia's local newspapers as well as to international journals. He is currently a Guest Contributor of articles to the opinion columns of the Washington Post, the New York Times, and the Liberian Connection website.