The Dominion of Sierra Leone was a

sovereign state A sovereign state or sovereign country, is a political entity represented by one central government that has supreme legitimate authority over territory. International law defines sovereign states as having a permanent population, defined te ...

with Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

as its

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

between independence on 27 April 1961 and becoming the

Republic of Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

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

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

History

On 27 April 1961 Sierra Leone gained independence. In 1962 general elections were won by the

Sierra Leone People's Party The Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) is one of the two major political parties in Sierra Leone, along with its main political rival the All People's Congress (APC). It has been the ruling party in Sierra Leone since April 4, 2018. The SLPP d ...

(SLPP). The

All People's Congress The All People's Congress (APC) is one of the two major political parties in Sierra Leone, the other being its main political rival the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP). The APC has been the main opposition party in Sierra Leone since 4 Ap ...

(APC) emerged as the most organised opposition. In March 1964

Njala University Njala University (NU) is a public university located in Njala and Bo, Sierra Leone. It is the second largest university in Sierra Leone (after the Fourah Bay College) and is also part of the University of Sierra Leone. The largest and main camp ...

opened. On 28 April 1964 Prime Minister

Milton Margai Sir Milton Augustus Strieby Margai (7 December 1895 – 28 April 1964) was a Sierra Leonean medical doctor and politician who served as the country's head of government from 1954 until his death in 1964. He was titled chief minister from 1954 ...

died. His brother,

Albert Margai Sir Albert Michael Margai (10 October 1910 – 18 December 1980) was the second prime minister of Sierra Leone and the half-brother of Milton Margai, Sir Milton Margai, the country's first Prime Minister. He was also the father of Sierra Leone ...

, was appointed as new prime minister. On 4 August 1964 Sierra Leone currency, the

Sierra Leonean leone The leone is the currency of Sierra Leone. It is subdivided into 100 ''cents''. As of 1 July 2022, the ISO 4217 code is ''SLE'' due to a redenomination of the old leone (SLL) at a rate of SLL 1000 to SLE 1. The leone is abbreviated as ''Le'' pla ...

, was established. In 1967 general elections were held in Sierra Leone. The APC won by a narrow margin. Brigadier John Lansana, head of the military, seized control of government immediately after swearing in of the new APC prime minister,

Siaka Stevens Siaka Probyn Stevens (24 August 1905 – 29 May 1988) was the leader of Sierra Leone from 1967 to 1985, serving as Prime Minister of Sierra Leone, Prime Minister from 1967 to 1971 and as President from 1971 to 1985. Stevens' leadership was ofte ...

. Lansana was ousted a few days later by junior military officers who invited

Andrew Juxon-Smith Brigadier Andrew Terence Juxon-Smith (30 November 1931 – 1996) was a Creole politician and military officer in Sierra Leone. He was briefly (27 March 1967 to 18 April 1968) Chairman of the National Reformation Council and acting Governor-Gene ...

, a senior officer on leave, to return and head a provisional government, 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). In 1968 NRC was overthrown by warrant officers of the army. John Bangura, a formerly dismissed senior officer, invited to head the army. Bangura turned over government to the APC, led by Siaka Stevens. In 1969 University of Sierra Leone was set up, comprising

Fourah Bay College Fourah Bay College is a public university in the neighbourhood of Mount Aureol in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Founded on 18 February 1827, it is the first western-style university built in Sub-Saharan Africa and, furthermore, the first university-l ...

and Njala University. On 19 April 1971 Sierra Leone became a republic with Siaka Stevens as executive president.

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) #

(April 1967 – 18 April 1968) (acting) #

John Amadu Bangura Brigadier John Amadu Bangura, CBE (8 March 1930 – 29 March 1970) was a Sierra Leonean who served as Chief of the Defence Staff of the Sierra Leone Armed Forces from 1968 to 1970. Prior to this in 1967, he served as the Sierra Leonean Amb ...

(18–22 April 1968) (acting) # Sir Banja Tejan-Sie (22 April 1968 – 31 March 1971) #

Christopher Okoro Cole Christopher Elnathan Okoro Cole, CMG OBE (April 17, 1921 – 1990) was a Sierra Leonean politician. He served as Governor-general and President of Sierra Leone for 1 day in 1971. Cole was appointed officer of the Most Excellent Order of the Brit ...

(31 March – 19 April 1971) (interim)

Prime Ministers

The

Prime Ministers A prime minister, premier 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. Under those systems, a prime minister is no ...

(and

heads of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch 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: #

(27 April 1961 – 30 April 1964) #

(30 April 1964 – 17 March 1967) #

(first term) (17 March 1967 – 21 March 1967) #

David Lansana Brigadier David Lansana (22 March 1922 – 19 July 1975) was the first indigenous armed force commander of the Sierra Leone Military during the colonial era. After Sierra Leone gained independence, he served as Military Attaché to the United St ...

(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 #

(second term) (26 April 1968 – 19 April 1971)

Transition to a Republic

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 and Prime Minister Siaka Stevens became the first

President of Sierra Leone The president of the Republic of Sierra Leone is the head of state and the head of government of Sierra Leone, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. As the head of the executive branch of the Sierra Leone government, the presi ...

References

Bibliography

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Notes

External links

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