Ernest Bai Koroma, the Leader of the All People's Congress (APC), is considered by his numerous followers all around Sierra Leone and in the Diaspora as The Hope of the Future.

Born October 2nd 1953 in Makeni, Bombali District, Northern Sierra Leone , Koroma attended the Sierra Leone Church primary School, Government Secondary School (Boys) Magburaka and Fourah Bay College , University of Sierra Leone .

He graduated in 1976 from Fourah Bay College , University of Sierra Leone following which he taught at the St. Francis Secondary School in Makeni before joining the Sierra Leone National Insurance Company in 1978.

Koroma moved over to the Reliance Insurance Trust Corporation (Ritcorp) in 1985 and became its Managing Director in 1988, a position he outstandingly held up to the March 2002 Elections.

An astute business man and a Chartered Insurer, Koroma is also a Fellow of the West African Insurance Institute (WAICA), an Associate of the Institute of Risk Management in the UK and a Member of the Institute of Directors in the UK.

Ernest is married to Sia Koroma and they have two children.  Sia Koroma is from Kono District, Eastern Province of Sierra Leone.  She attended Annie Walsh Memorial school and completed post-graduate in Bio-Chemistry at London University . The Koroma children are currently pursuing studies in the UK