PERSONAL PROFILE OF DR. COLUMBA MICHAEL JOE BLANGO, Born in Bo, Sierra Leone

1977 – Represented Sierra Leone in the African Games in Nigeria

• 1980 – Represented Sierra Leone in the Olympics Games in Moscow
• 1991 – Came to settle in London.
• 1992 – 2004 – Worked as a teacher in various learning institutions in the UK.
• 1998 – Elected a Liberal Democrat Councillor in the London Borough of Southwark for Dockyard Ward.
• 2000 – Received a national civic award for his role in community engagement in the year of the millennium.
• 2002 – Elected councillor for the second four-term time for Surrey Docks Ward, became Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Community Relations in Southwark.
• 2003 -2004 – Elected first African born Mayor of the London Borough of Southwark. During his Mayoral period, he facilitated an official twinning arrangement between Koidu Town Council in Kono, Sierra Leone and Southwark Council.
• 2004 – Crowned a ceremonial Chief in Bo during an official visit to Sierra Leone.
• 2004 – Received a letter of commendation from the Queen on a superb job done representing her receiving President Putin of Russia into Southwark.
• 2004 – Made a Freeman of the City of London and awarded the Freedom of the City of London.
• May 2005 – Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate at the UK Parliamentary General Election for Deptford Lewisham Constituency.
• 2004 – 2006 – Senior cabinet member on Southwark Liberal Democrat-controlled Council holding the cabinet portfolio for Equalities, Culture, Sport and International Development. During this period, he established youth, business and sport exchange programmes between the youth of Sierra Leone and the youth of Southwark. A few exchange visits were made.
• 2006 – Reelected Councillor for the third four-term for Rotherhithe ward.
• 2006 – 2011 – Southwark Council’s cabinet member for Sports, Communities, Equalities, Citizenship and International Partnership.
• 2008 – Chair of Rotherhithe Community Council,
• Spent 4 months in Sierra Leone this year (May-August) as a policy consultant working on a World Bank project reviewing the Sierra Leone Local Government Act 2004 and writing the National Decentralisation and Devolution Policy. Also in June 2004, he was one of the speakers at a UN conference in Vienna on Social, Economic and Political Development in Africa.
• Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for Camberwell and Peckham Constituency at UK parliamentary elections. The first black person from the 3 major parties to be selected ever for this constituency.
• Still a Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidate
• Currently Head of Department at a leading independent school in the UK