2 July 2009
Though the nation of Liberia, the government of Liberia and the people of Liberia are touched and moved by the death of D. Musulegn Cooper, the National Patriotic (NPP) of which she was a staunch member is bearing the pangs of her demise.
"The Party has lost a strong and dependable pillar who is irreplaceable and whose departure will forever be felt and remembered," a remarked another NPP partisan upon hearing the news of Madam Cooper's passing. By and large, most Liberians whether partisans of the NPP or not, are of the view that she was an outstanding citizen, a renowned woman who served her country with dignity, commitment and pride.
Madam Cooper, the first female Foreign Minister of Liberia during the troubled period of transition, died Tuesday, June 30, 2009 at the John F. Kennedy Medical Hospital (JFK) following a brief illness, family sources said. Besides being the first female Foreign Minister in the history of Liberia's existence, she happened to be the first minister to head the Ministry of Gender and Development, which came into existence during the regime of Charles Ghankay Taylor.
The cause of death of the fallen stateswoman has not been official disclosed by doctors at the JFK, but family members told reporters that she briefly took sick on Monday night, June 29, 2009 and rushed to the JFK Medical center, Liberia's referral hospital where she was pronounced dead later.
The late Cooper, a soft spoken and quite-moving personality served in academia as well, as Acting President of the African Methodist Episcopal University (AMEU) on Camp Johnson Road. The comatose body of the late educator and politician is reportedly deposited at the Samuel Stryker Funeral Home which is few yards away from the JFK where she finally gave up her ghost.
Reactions to her death
Reactions to the death of Madam Cooper were mixed; others expressed extreme astonishment while others broke down into tears. According to reporter who followed up on the death of the NPP staunch partisan, few minutes following the seeping of the news, the compound of the JFK was overtaken by cross-section of Liberians with most of them seen physically sobbing.
Those who did make it at the JFK followed up at the funeral home and among them were Stewarts of the former ruling National Patriotic Party (NPP) led by Benoni Urey, Lewis Brown, John T. Richardson, Sando Johnson, T.C. Gould, Aaron Kollie among others.
According to our reporter, the NPP executives found it tetchy to hold back their tears, as they were seen weeping. Apart from the NPP officials breaking down which is not unusual in the case of death, especially for someone who was seen as one of the pillars of the party they struggled to maintain after the departure of former President Taylor, other relatives, friends and well-wishers bitterly broke down too.
The late D. Muse as she was fondly called was one of the founding members of the NPP which governed the country from 1997 to 2003. The party crumbled in 2003 when its leading financial and first partisan, Charles Taylor peacefully relinquished power to save his country further destruction.
Addressing reporters at the JFK, NPP Executive Committee member Benoni Urey described the death of Muselign Cooper as a great loss to the entire country because of the invaluable role she played during the country's reconstruction
He indicated that the death of the stateswoman is one of the greatest loss to the nation, and described her as the mother to several Liberians who are today contributing to nation building. "Liberians will forever miss mother Cooper, as she was the woman of virtue and peace," he added
The late Dorothy Museleng Cooper was born on September 9, 1930. she was the mother of several children and contributed lots to the rebuilding of the Liberian society, family members say.
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