
Sona Jobarteh
Kora virtuoso, composer and educator
The voices, visionaries and trailblazers who shaped The Gambia — and inspired the world.
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Kora virtuoso, composer and educator

Independence leader and first president

International criminal prosecutor

Sprint champion

Cardiologist and scientific inclusion pioneer

Kora master and composer

Poet, editor and economist

First woman elected mayor of Banjul

Clinician and research leader

Novelist, playwright and media historian

International footballer

Historian, curator and heritage advocate

Kora musician and bandleader

Football pioneer

Educator and school founder

Recycling pioneer and social entrepreneur

Labour leader and anticolonial campaigner

Poet, novelist and surgeon

Jurist and international prosecutor

Coalition mediator and former vice-president

International lawyer and justice reformer

Social-enterprise and development specialist

Feminist leader and campaigner against FGM

Kora player and oral storyteller

Historian, broadcaster and nationalist

Ophthalmologist and eye-health researcher

Political scientist and democracy scholar

International footballer

Responsible-tourism pioneer

President elected in the 2016 transition

Olympic sprinter
Olympic middle-distance pioneer

Women’s football trailblazer

Education advocate and peacebuilder

Taekwondo Olympic pioneer

Pioneering kora player and jali
Barrister and defender of press freedom

Diplomat and vice-president

Blindness advocate and social entrepreneur

Entrepreneurship mentor and incubator founder

Kora virtuoso and oral historian

Lawyer and former solicitor general

Writer and gender equality activist

International footballer

HIV immunologist and research mentor

Teacher, diplomat and vice-president

Historian of Senegambia

Playwright and women's rights pioneer

Hip-hop artist and campaign musician

Women’s international footballer

Paediatrician and public-health researcher

Writer and literary critic

Journalist, historian and truth commission official

Mathematician and computational researcher

Journalist and radio entrepreneur

World boxing champion

Bassist, bandleader and arranger

Guitarist, arranger and music mentor

International football referee

Historian of law, religion and society

International sports administrator

First woman Speaker of parliament

Mathematician and data scientist
Pioneering woman deputy speaker

Playwright and public servant

Jurist and constitutional review chair

Diplomat and development professional

Olympic sprint pioneer

Editor, commentator and author

Reggae singer and recording artist

International footballer

Musician and music-school founder

Kora performer and recording artist

Editor and press freedom advocate

Novelist and educator

Hepatologist and clinical researcher

Novelist and educator

Novelist and essayist

Olympic sprinter

International footballer

Journalist and symbol of press freedom

Sociologist and pan-African research leader

International footballer
Psychiatrist and medical educator

Clinical epidemiologist and vaccine researcher

Teacher, unionist and parliamentary speaker

Lawyer, justice minister and legal writer

Women’s-rights advocate and WILL founder

Oyster-women organiser and conservation leader

Journalist and commentator

Climate activist and organiser

Women’s international footballer

Enterprise-development and trade specialist

Olympic sprinter

Broadcaster and media founder

Judo medalist

Historian and education pioneer

Poet, publisher and language educator

Playwright, poet and educator

Rapper, songwriter and arranger

Independent radio pioneer

Senior judge and judicial educator

Diaspora organiser and anti-racism advocate

Judge and advocate of judicial independence

Parliamentarian and democratic organiser
Merchant and civic pioneer

Lawyer and constitutional rights advocate

Trade unionist and political pioneer

Cleric and human-rights advocate

Women’s football pioneer

Nutritionist and gender advocate

Teacher educator and college leader

Kora musician and broadcaster

Anglican bishop and community leader

Playwright and theatre administrator

Veterinarian and avian-health expert

International footballer

Gambian-Norwegian sprinter

Afro-pop singer and songwriter
Surgeon and health administrator

Poet and feminist literary voice

Ritti virtuoso and singer

Rapper and civic activist

Afro-Cuban singer and composer

Kora master and singer

First woman cabinet minister and education pioneer
First woman member of the House of Representatives
Trade union organiser

Editor and journalism trainer

Kora master and music teacher

Diplomat, foreign minister and scholar

Pioneering woman lawyer and parliamentary speaker

Women’s football coach
Griot singer and cultural figure

Pioneering woman judge

Poet and librarian

Beach volleyball champion

Premier League pioneer

Cardiologist and epidemiologist

Writer and literary organiser

Short-story writer

Agricultural-technology entrepreneur

Agribusiness entrepreneur

Diplomat and international cultural official

Global youth-work scholar and educator

Technology and telecommunications entrepreneur

Singer and Senegambian musical pioneer

Construction and property entrepreneur

Court of Appeal president

Environment and civil-society leader

Editor and journalists' union leader

Genomics and global-health scientist

First elected woman parliamentarian

Music producer and festival promoter

Diplomat and ECOWAS Commission president

International footballer

Human rights lawyer and opposition leader

Development economist and researcher
Olympic long jumper

Kora player, singer and songwriter

Journalist and diaspora publisher

Publisher and press freedom advocate

Vocalist, songwriter and band pioneer

Women’s football captain

Lawyer and first chief minister

Scholar and education leader

Nursing educator and humanitarian

Educator and women's historian

Radio broadcaster and international communicator

Judge and human rights institution builder

Reggae singer and recording artist

Educator, clergyman and party pioneer

Poet, author and communications specialist

Microbiologist and antimicrobial-resistance researcher

Beach volleyball champion

Kora musician and tradition bearer

Pioneering national librarian

Novelist and poet

Doctor and family-planning pioneer

Independence-era political organiser

Olympic middle-distance runner

Olympic sprinter

Feminist legal scholar and human-rights advocate

Kora performer and storyteller

Tourism educator and industry leader

High-jump pioneer

First vice-president and opposition leader

Singer, producer and recording artist

Gambian governor-general and pharmacist
Pioneering parliamentary speaker

Anglican bishop and regional church leader

Barrister and African human rights commissioner

Rapper and Afro-Manding musician

African-studies scholar and public intellectual

Olympic sprinter

Poet, editor and broadcasting pioneer

Kora innovator and bandleader

Pioneering international recording singer

Newspaper publisher and press union pioneer

International footballer
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Every story is a beginning. Help us discover who comes next.
Travel through the generations.
See how one legacy makes room for the next.
Meet the early voices, organisers and cultural custodians whose work helped shape a nation’s identity.
Dates mark selected, source-linked achievements. Lives and legacies often span several eras.
Some names fill history books.
Others live in the stories we tell at home.
The Gambia Who's Who brings those stories together: the artists, thinkers, leaders, competitors and community builders whose work has made a difference over the past hundred years.
Our first 200 profiles are a starting collection, not a ranking or a final word. We include Gambians at home and across the diaspora, and people with a documented Gambian connection. Every field deserves a place. Every profile deserves care.
A teacher who changed lives. An artist who broke new ground.
An unsung hero in your community. Help us tell their story.