The Dominion of Sierra Leone was an independent

sovereign state A sovereign state is a State (polity), state that has the highest authority over a territory. It is commonly understood that Sovereignty#Sovereignty and independence, a sovereign state is independent. When referring to a specific polity, the ter ...

with Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

as its

head of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

between independence on 27 April 1961 and becoming the Republic of Sierra Leone on 19 April 1971. When British rule ended in April 1961, the British Crown Colony of Sierra Leone was given independence under the Sierra Leone Independence Act 1961.

, remained the head of state of Sierra Leone and was represented in Sierra Leone by a

Governor-General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

. Sierra Leone shared the Sovereign with other countries, including the

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History

On 27 April 1961, Sierra Leone gained independence. It retained a parliamentary system of government and was a member of the British

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an International organization, international association of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, 56 member states, the vast majo ...

An independent nation led by Sir Milton Margai

On 27 April 1961, Milton Margai led Sierra Leone to independence from the United Kingdom.Advocate Nations of Africa: Sierra Leone
Thousands of Sierra Leoneans across the nation took to the streets to celebrate their independence. The nation held its first general elections on 27 May 1962, and Sir Milton Margai was elected Sierra Leone's first prime minister by a landslide. Milton Margai's political party, the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP), won by large margins in the nation's first general election under universal adult

suffrage Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

in May 1962 under universal adult franchise. The All People's Congress (APC) emerged as the most organised opposition. An important aspect of Margai's character was his self-effacement. He was neither corrupt nor did he make a lavish display of his power or status. Sir Milton's government was based on the

rule of law The essence of the rule of law is that all people and institutions within a Body politic, political body are subject to the same laws. This concept is sometimes stated simply as "no one is above the law" or "all are equal before the law". Acco ...

and the notion of separation of powers, with multiparty political institutions and fairly viable representative structures. Margai used his conservative ideology to lead Sierra Leone without much strife. He appointed government officials with a clear eye to satisfy various ethnic groups. Margai successfully built coalitions from in the 1950s to attain independence without bloodshed. With his genteel nature, Margai employed a brokerage style of politics by sharing political power between political groups and the paramount chiefs in the provinces. In March 1964, Njala University opened. Upon Margai's death on 28 April 1964, an internal crisis within members of the Sierra Leone People's party erupted as to who would succeed Margai as prime minister. The parliament of Sierra Leone held an emergency session to elect a new prime minister; the person must be a member of the ruling SLPP party. One of the two leading candidates to succeed Margai as prime minister was Sir Albert Margai, Sierra Leone's Finance Minister and also the younger brother of Sir Milton Margai. The other was Dr. John Karefa-Smart, Sierra Leone's foreign minister and a close ally of Sir Milton. Sir Albert Margai was elected by a majority vote in Parliament to be the new leader of the SLPP and the next prime minister of Sierra Leone. Sir Albert attempted to establish a

one-party state A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system or single-party system is a governance structure in which only a single political party controls the ruling system. In a one-party state, all opposition parties are either outlawed or en ...

had the ready cooperation of the opposition All People' Congress but met fierce resistance from some cadre within his party Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) and ultimately abandoned the idea. Sir Albert Margai's leadership was briefly challenged by Sierra Leone's Foreign Minister John Karefa-Smart, an ethnic Sherbro, who questioned Sir Albert's succession to the SLPP leadership position. Kareefa-Smart received little support in Parliament in his attempt to have Margai stripped of the SLPP leadership. On 4 August 1964, Sierra Leone's decimal currency, the Sierra Leonean leone, was introduced to replace the British West African pound.

Albert Margai Administration

Sir Albert was sworn in as Sierra Leone's second prime minister the same day his brother died at a ceremony held at the Sierra Leone's parliament in Freetown. Soon after Margai was sworn in as prime minister, he immediately dismissed Karefa-Smart and several other senior government officials who had served under his elder brother Sir Milton's government, as he viewed them as traitors and a threat to his administration. Sir Albert appointed the Creole politician Cyril B. Rogers-Wright to replace Karefa-Smart. Unlike his late brother Milton, Sir Albert was opposed to the colonial legacy of allowing the country's Paramount Chiefs executive powers and he was seen as a threat to the existence of the ruling houses across the country. This made him unpopular with the powerful paramount chiefs, most of whom were founding members of the SLPP. To strengthen support for his reform agenda for the party and the country the new prime minister brought into the executive of the SLPP and his government younger, western-educated, and more radicalised members of the party including Salia Jusu Sheriff (PhD). The party was thus divided with the traditionalist and more powerful old guard against the new and younger leaders. As Prime Minister Sir Albert Margai opposed Creole domination of the civil service and many ethnic Creoles lost their positions in the civil service as a result. Sir Albert Margai was highly criticized during his tenure as prime minister. He was accused of corruption and of a policy of affirmative action in favor of the Mende ethnic group. During Albert Margai's administration, The Mende increased their influence both in the civil service and the army. Most of the top military and government positions were held by Mendes. Sir Albert also tried to establish a

but with very little support in Parliament, even among his fellow SLPP members and was also met by fierce resistance from the main opposition the All People's Congress (APC), which had become suddenly more popular than the ruling SLPP and ultimately abandoned the idea. Under Albert Margai's government, Sierra Leone enjoyed

freedom of speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The rights, right to freedom of expression has been r ...

and

freedom of the press Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic Media (communication), media, especially publication, published materials, shoul ...

. Sir Albert tolerated criticism of his government, even by his political opponent. Not a single journalist or politician was killed during his term in office. Sir Albert tolerated criticism or written a

libel Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...

claim against his government. Under Albert Margai, all Sierra Leoneans had equal access to free and fair trial. Sir Albert had the opportunity to perpetuate himself in power, but he elected not to do so even when the opportunities presented themselves. He had the police and the army on his side and nothing could have prevented him from achieving his ambition to hold on to power, but he chose not to and called for a free and fair elections.

Three military coups, 1967-1968

After the closely contested general election in March 1967, Sierra Leone Governor General Sir Henry Josiah Lightfoot Boston declared the new prime minister to be Siaka Stevens, an ethnic Limba, the candidate of the APC and the mayor of Freetown. Stevens had defeated the incumbent prime minister, Sir Albert Margai, by a narrow margin. Stevens won the majority of the vote in the north of the country and in the western area, including in Freetown. Albert Margai on the other side, won the vast majority of the vote in south-eastern Sierra Leone. Sir Albert conceded defeat and handed power to Siaka Stevens. Stevens was sworn in as Sierra Leone's third prime minister on 21 March 1967 in Freetown. Mere hours after he took office, soldiers stormed the State House and abducted Stevens at gunpoint. The coup was led by Brigadier General David Lansana, an ethnic Mende and the commander of the Sierra Leone Armed Forces. Brigadier Lansana was a prominent supporter of Albert Margai, who had appointed him to the top command in 1964. Brigadier Lansana declared a state of emergency and imposed martial law. He insisted that the determination of the winner of the election should await the election of the tribal representatives in Parliament, mostly from Mende chiefdoms in South-Eastern Sierra Leone. On 23 March 1967, however, a group of senior army officers led by Brigadier Andrew Juxon-Smith, an ethnic Creole, in turn seized control of the government, arrested Lansana and suspended the constitution. Martial law was maintained. The group constituted itself as the

National Reformation Council The National Reformation Council, or NRC, was a group of senior military officers with Brigadier Andrew Juxon-Smith as its chairman, who seized control of the Sierra Leone Government of Sierra Leone, government on March 23, 1967. They suspended the ...

(NRC) with

Brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

Andrew Juxon-Smith as its chairman. The NRC in turn was overthrown in April 1968 by a "sergeants' revolt," the Anti-Corruption Revolutionary Movement. NRC members were imprisoned, army and police officers were deposed, the democratic constitution was restored, and power was handed back to Stevens, who at last assumed the office of prime minister. John Bangura, a formerly dismissed senior officer, was invited to head the army. Tranquility was not completely restored: in November 1968 a state of emergency was declared after provincial disturbances. In 1969, the

University of Sierra Leone The University of Sierra Leone is the name of the former unitary public university system in Sierra Leone. Established in February 1827, it is the oldest university in Africa. As of May 2005, the University of Sierra Leone was reconstituted into ...

was set up, comprising Fourah Bay College and Njala University. In March 1971 the government survived an unsuccessful military coup. On 19 April 1971, Sierra Leone became a republic with Siaka Stevens as the first executive President of the Republic.

Governors-General

The Governors-General of Sierra Leone were: # Sir Maurice Henry Dorman (27 April 1961 – 27 April 1962) # Sir Henry Josiah Lightfoot Boston (27 April 1962 – April 1967) # Andrew Juxon-Smith (April 1967 – 18 April 1968) (acting) # John Amadu Bangura (18–22 April 1968) (acting) # Sir Banja Tejan-Sie (22 April 1968 – 31 March 1971) # Christopher Okoro Cole ( Chief Justice of Sierra Leone) (31 March – 19 April 1971) (interim)

Prime Ministers

The

Prime Ministers A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but rat ...

(and

heads of government In the executive branch, the head of government is the highest or the second-highest official of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a ...

) of Sierra Leone during this period were: #Sir Milton Margai (27 April 1961 – 30 April 1964) (died in office) #Sir Albert Margai (30 April 1964 – 17 March 1967) # Siaka Stevens (first term) (17 March 1967 – 21 March 1967) # David Lansana (21 March 1967 – 24 March 1967) # Ambrose Patrick Genda (24 March 1967 – 27 March 1967)^a # Andrew Juxon Smith (27 March 1967 – 19 April 1968)^a # Patrick Conteh (19 April 1968 – 26 April 1968)^b # Siaka Stevens (second term) (26 April 1968 – 19 April 1971)

Transition to a Republic

Queen Elizabeth II visited Sierra Leone from 25 November to 1 December 1961, shortly after independence. Sierra Leone became a republic within the Commonwealth on the promulgation of the 1971 Constitution of Sierra Leone and Prime Minister Siaka Stevens became the first President of Sierra Leone.

References

Bibliography

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Notes

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sierra Leone (1961-1971) 1961 establishments in Sierra Leone Former Commonwealth realms Government of Sierra Leone 1960s in Sierra Leone Politics of Sierra Leone Sierra Leone and the Commonwealth of Nations Sierra Leone–United Kingdom relations States and territories established in 1961