Milton Nathaniel Barnes
Ambassador M. Nathaniel Barnes spent his formative years in Harper, Maryland County and Monrovia, Liberia. He graduated from the College of West Africa (high school) in 1972. He briefly studied at the University of Liberia and worked as an intern in Liberia's banking system before eventually going to the United States for college. He entered Rider University (then Rider College) in Lawrenceville, New Jersey in 1975 where he majored in Finance. Upon acquiring a B.Sc. degree from Rider in 1978, he matriculated to Pace University in New York City where he obtained an MBA with concentration in Finance and Banking in 1979. On May 15, 2009, an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree was conferred on Ambassador Barnes by his alma mater Rider University, Lawrenceville, New Jersey.
Ambassador Barnes began his professional career with The Insurance Company of Africa in Monrovia after extensive training in management and insurance operations at affiliate company offices in Des Moines, Iowa, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He returned to Liberia in December 1979 and managed the underwriting function of the Property and Casualty Division of the company. He and his wife family left Liberia in July of 1980 as a result of the violent coup d'etat in April 1980. They settled in Nashville, Tennessee, where he got a job at Northern Telecom (now Nortel) as an analyst in the corporation's treasury department. Over fourteen years at that company he rose quickly through the management ranks working in financial management, internal control and marketing. After leaving the corporation in 1996, he ran a successful telecommunications consulting firm.
In April 1998 Ambassador Barnes fulfilled his desire to return to Liberia where he started as an analyst at the Ministry of Finance.
March 1999 saw his appointment to the National Social Security and Welfare Corporation (NASSCORP) as Director General. Within a six-month period at NASSCORP, he was able to completely transform the corporation from a debt-ridden, under-funded entity into a more efficient one, by streamlining its workforce, challenging and motivating the management team and aggressively negotiating with creditors. In addition, he established a dynamic program to initiate an insurance reserve.
In September of 1999, Ambassador Barnes was appointed as Minister of Finance, Republic of Liberia a position he held until July 2002. In that capacity, he became the chief architect of Liberia's fiscal program. During his tenure as Minister, he oversaw and implemented a new Tax Code for Liberia in consultation with the Fiscal Affairs Department of the International Monetary Fund. As Minister of Finance of Liberia, he conceptualized and developed a proposal for a Summit of Post-Conflict Nations in Africa where issues relevant to member nations' peculiar and unique experiences would be analyzed with the objective of formulating a plan for post-conflict reconstruction and rehabilitation. Ambassador Barnes still cherishes the hope that such a Summit will one day materialize. As Minister of Finance, he developed a strong management team and tasked, challenged and motivated more than one thousand six hundred employees to new levels of productivity and excellence. In July 2002 his differences with President Charles Taylor were so pronounced that Ambassador Barnes was happy to be relieved of his duties as Minister of Finance.
In August 2003, the Liberian nation reached an all time low. Rebel forces and forces loyal to President Taylor clashed in a series of bloody conflicts known in Liberia as World War I, World War II and World War III. The international community intervened to end the violence. Troops from the West African Region (ECOWAS) followed by the United Nations came to Liberia as peace-keepers. With the removal of President Charles Taylor from power and the installation of a transitional interim government, Ambassador Barnes took a bold step. Believing that above all else leadership mattered in Africa and Liberia in particular, believing that traditional politicians had failed the people miserably and believing that what Liberia truly needed was "a new breed" of leader far removed from traditional politicians, Ambassador Barnes decided to run for President of Liberia in the General and Presidential Elections of October 2005. He founded a new political party, Liberia Destiny Party, and was elected Standard Bearer thus becoming a presidential candidate. Despite the fact that he was unsuccessful in his bid for President, Ambassador Barnes counts the experience as one of the most life-changing and significant experiences he has had. He threw his full support behind Ellen Johnson Sirleaf during the subsequent run-off elections and was pleased to have played a small role in her success in becoming the first democratically elected female president of an African nation.
May 2006 saw the appointment of M. Nathaniel Barnes as Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations from the Republic of Liberia. He views this challenge as another opportunity to serve his country in its bid to reenter the global community of nations while pursuing its strategic economic, social and political objectives. Ambassador Barnes believes that "the thrust of our efforts here at the United Nations will be rebuilding our traditional relationships and forging new ones on a foundation of trust, understanding and mutual respect. Of course, the primary focus will be on how we utilize these mutually beneficial relationships to serve Liberia's economic, social and political interest."
Most recently, Ambassador Barnes was once again called upon to represent his country as Chief of Mission. In September 2008, he presented his credentials to President George W. Bush. As Ambassador to the U.S., Ambassador Barnes expects to fully engage the Liberian Diaspora which is both substantial and influential. He has initiated the establishment of the Liberian Diaspora Advisory Board for the purpose of effectively engaging the Liberian Diaspora in America in tackling the Government of Liberia's Poverty Reduction Strategy.
Through a variety of approaches that Ambassador Barnes uses to realize his objectives, his fundamental goal is singular: to make a positive impact on the lives of Liberian people.