Dr. Abdulai Osman Conteh was born on 5 August 1945 in Kambia District, British Sierra Leone. Raised mostly in Freetown, he attended the Albert Academy and later Fourah Bay College before travelling to the UK for further studies. Dr. Conteh has the following educational qualifications: Ph.D, (International Law), 1974, King's College, Cambridge; LLB (Hons): 1971, King's College, Cambridge; LLM: 1971, London University, United Kingdom; LLB (Hons): 1969, King's College London; Barrister at Law: Called to the Bar of England and Wales, 1970, at Lincoln’s Inn, London, United Kingdom; Harold Porter Prize man In Land Law, 1968. He returned home in the early 70s and worked for the SL Law Officers Department. Dr. Conteh later went into private practice and taught Law at Fourah Bay College for several years.