BARCLAY TRAINING CENTER, MONROVIA-  7 AUGUST 2024: The President of the Republic of Liberia, His Excellency Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr., on 7 August 2024, commissions the two deputy ministers of the Ministry of National Defense at the Executive Mansion.

Those commissioned were Dr. Augustine T. Larmin, Deputy Minister for Administration, and Honorable Spencer Leeco, Deputy Minister of Defense for Operations. The two officials of government have come to the office with enviable credentials and requisite competence.

Deputy Minister Larmin has a BA in Political Science, African Methodist Episcopal University, Liberia; MA in International Relations, University of Liberia, Liberia; MPA in Public Sector Management, Cuttington University, Liberia; and a PhD in Security Studies, School of Politics, Security and International Affairs, University of Central Florida, United States. Besides, he received training at various military institutions, including the African Center for Strategic Studies (ACSS) at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C., the Naval Post-Graduate College in Monetary, California, the Center for Democratic Control of Armed Conflicts in London, UK, the National Defense University in Beijing, China among others.

Deputy Minister Leeco holds Bachelor degrees in Public Administration, 2005, and Management, 2009, from the A.M.E. University, Master of Public Administration, May 2012, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey; Master of Arts in Human Resources Management, May 2016, and Master of Arts in International Relations, October 2019, Webster University, St. Louis, Missouri. Also, he is a recipient of many certificates including Certificate, Nonviolent Transformation of Conflict, 2007, University For Peace in Partnership with the University of Sierra Leone; Certificate, Public Leadership Credential, August 2021, Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Certificate, Leadership in Crises, April 2013, Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Cambridge, Massachusetts; and Certificate, Strategic Level Small Craft Combating Terrorism Course, Naval Small Craft Instruction and Technical Training School, April 2016.

They have both previously served the Ministry of National Defense in several positions, contributing their varied quotas to the modernization of Liberia’s defense sector with utmost diligence to duties.