January 13. On this date in 1943, Kiser Barnes, later a member of the Universal House of Justice, was born in Baltimore, Maryland.

 

January 13. On this date in 1943, Kiser Barnes, later a member of the Universal House of Justice, was born in Baltimore, Maryland.

Kiser Barnes was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on January 13, 1943. Kiser Barnes obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Morgan State University in 1965 and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Maryland School of Law in 1974. Barnes would practice law in Maryland where he also held senior positions in human rights organizations. He would subsequently relocate to West Africa where he held senior academic posts at universities in Benin, Togo, and Nigeria. Barnes was a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Law at Obafemi Awolowo University in , Ife, Nigeria where he taught the Law of Business Associations, Law of Contracts, and International Economic Law from 1980 to 1993. He earned a Masters Degree in the Philosophy of Law from Obafemi Awolowo University in 1984.

Kiser Barnes was a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Benin from 1977 to 1979. He was appointed to the Auxiliary Board for the propagation of the Faith in Nigeria and served in that capacity from 1981 to 1990. In 1990 he was appointed to the Continental Board of Counsellors for the Protection and Propagation of the Faith in Africa.

Three years later, in 1993, he was appointed to the International Teaching Centre. The International Teaching Centre, whose seat is at the Bahá'í World Centre in Haifa, Israel, is composed of nine Counsellors appointed by the Universal House of Justice and tasked with duties to stimulate and coordinate the Continental Board of Counselors and assist the Universal House of Justice in matters relating to the teaching and protection of the faith. All of the current members of the Universal House of Justice previously served as members of the International Teaching Centre.

In 2000, Barnes was elected to the Universal House of Justice. After thirteen years of service on the Universal House of Justice, Barnes retired from that body in 2013.