View source for Sierra Leone (1961–1971)

{{Short description|African country from 1961 to 1971}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox former country
| conventional_long_name = Dominion of Sierra Leone
| common_name            = Sierra Leone
| era                    = [[Decolonisation of Africa]]
| empire                 = [[Independence|Independent]]
| s1                     = Sierra Leone{{!}}Republic of Sierra Leone
| flag_s1                = Flag of Sierra Leone.svg
| p1                     = Sierra Leone Colony and Protectorate
| flag_p1                = Flag of Sierra Leone (1916–1961).svg
| image_flag             = Flag of Sierra Leone.svg
| image_coat             = Coat of arms of Sierra Leone.svg
| symbol                 =
| symbol_type            = Coat of arms
| image_map              = File:Sierra Leone (orthographic projection).svg
| image_map_caption      =
| capital                = [[Freetown]]
| national_motto         = ''Unity, Freedom, Justice''
| national_anthem        = [[High We Exalt Thee, Realm of the Free]] {{center|[[File:Sierra Leone's national anthem.ogg]]}}
| government_type        = [[Unitary state|Unitary]] [[Parliamentary system|parliamentary]] [[constitutional monarchy]]
| title_leader           = [[Queen of Sierra Leone|Queen]]
| leader1                = [[Elizabeth II]]
| year_leader1           = 1961–1971
| title_representative   = {{No wrap|[[List of colonial governors of Sierra Leone|Governor-General]]}}
| representative1        = ''[[#Governors-General|See list]]''
| year_representative1   = 1961–1971
| title_deputy           = [[List of heads of government of Sierra Leone|Prime Minister]]
| deputy1                = ''[[#Prime Ministers|See list]]''
| year_deputy1           = 1961–1971
| event_start            = Independence
| date_start             = 27 April
| year_start             = 1961
| event_end              = Republic
| date_end               = 19 April
| year_end               = 1971
| currency               = [[British West African pound]]<br/>(1961–1964)<br/>[[Sierra Leonean leone|Sierra Leonean Leone]]<br/>(1964–1971)
| iso3166code            = omit
| stat_year1             = 1963
| stat_pop1              = 2,180,355<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sierra-leone.org/Census/ssl_final_results.pdf|title=FINAL RESULTS 2004 POPULATION AND HOUSING CENSUS|website=Sierra-leone.org|access-date=15 August 2018}}</ref>
| stat_year2             = 1965
| stat_pop2              = 2,473,294<ref name="Worldometers">{{cite web|title=Sierra Leone Population|url=http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/sierra-leone-population/|website=Worldometers|access-date=3 January 2018}}</ref>
| stat_year3             = 1970
| stat_pop3              = 2,692,259<ref name="Worldometers" />
| today                  = [[Sierra Leone]]
}}
The '''Dominion of Sierra Leone''' was an independent [[sovereign state]] with Queen [[Elizabeth II]] as its [[head of state]] between independence on 27 April 1961 and becoming the [[Republic of Sierra Leone]] on 19 April 1971.<ref name="WorldStatesmen">{{cite web|title=Sierra Leone|url=http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Sierra_Leone.html|website=WorldStatesmen.org|access-date=19 November 2017}}</ref>
When British rule ended in April 1961, the [[British Crown Colony of Sierra Leone]] was given independence under the [[Sierra Leone Independence Act 1961]].<ref name="LegislationGovUK">{{cite web|title=Sierra Leone Independence Act 1961|url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Eliz2/9-10/16|website=Legislation.gov.uk|access-date=19 November 2017}}</ref> [[Elizabeth II]], remained the head of state of Sierra Leone<ref name="SierraLeoneHeads">{{cite web|title=Sierra Leone Heads|url=http://www.guide2womenleaders.com/Sierra_Leone_Heads.htm|website=Worldwide Guide to Women in Leadership|access-date=20 November 2017}}</ref> and was represented in Sierra Leone by a [[Governor-General]].{{sfn|Kargbo|2006|p=70}} Sierra Leone [[States headed by Elizabeth II|shared the Sovereign with other countries]], including the [[United Kingdom]].
==History==
On 27 April 1961, Sierra Leone gained independence.{{sfn|Fyle|2006|p=XXII}} It retained a parliamentary system of government and was a member of the British [[Commonwealth of Nations]].
===An independent nation led by Sir Milton Margai===
On 27 April 1961, Milton Margai led Sierra Leone to independence from the United Kingdom.<ref name="advocate">[http://www.advocatenations.org/html/sierra_leone.html Advocate Nations of Africa: Sierra Leone] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927213105/http://www.advocatenations.org/html/sierra_leone.html |date=September 27, 2013 }}</ref> Thousands of Sierra Leoneans across the nation took to the streets to celebrate their independence. The nation held its [[Sierra Leonean general election, 1962|first general elections]] on 27 May 1962, and Sir [[Milton Margai]] was elected Sierra Leone's first prime minister by a landslide.<ref name="advocate" /> 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]] in May 1962 under universal adult franchise.<ref>{{Cite book  | last = Pham | first = John-Peter | title = Child soldiers, adult interests: the global dimensions of the Sierra Leonean tragedy  | publisher = Nova Publishers  | year = 2005 | pages = 32–33 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ZnPFKpwoIkIC&dq=sierra+leone+independence+1961&pg=PA32 | isbn = 978-1-59454-671-6}}</ref> The [[All People's Congress]] (APC) emerged as the most organised opposition.{{sfn|Fyle|2006|p=XXII}}
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]] 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]] 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.<ref>{{cite book | title=Political leadership in Sierra Leone | publisher=Croom Helm | author=John R. Cartwright | pages=[https://archive.org/details/politicalleaders0000cart/page/77 77]–79 | url=https://archive.org/details/politicalleaders0000cart | url-access=registration | year=1978| isbn=978-0-8020-5404-3 }}</ref> Sir Albert Margai's leadership was briefly challenged by Sierra Leone's Foreign Minister John Karefa-Smart, an ethnic [[Sherbro people|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]].{{sfn|Fyle|2006|p=XXIII}}
===Albert Margai Administration===
[[File:All People's Congress political rally Sierra Leone 1968.jpg|thumb|right|230px|[[All People's Congress|APC]] political rally in [[Kabala, Sierra Leone|Kabala]], [[Koinadugu District]] outside the home of supporters of the rival SLPP in 1967.]]
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 [[Sierra Leone Creole|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 [[Sierra Leone Creole|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 people|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 [[one-party state]] 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]] and [[freedom of the press]]. 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]] 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 [[Sierra Leonean general election, 1967|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 people (Sierra Leone)|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 [[Military of Sierra Leone|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]] (NRC) with [[Brigadier]] [[Andrew Juxon-Smith]] as its chairman.{{sfn|Fyle|2006|p=XXIII}}
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.<ref>{{Cite book  | last = Gberie| first =Lansana | title = A dirty war in West Africa: the RUF and the destruction of Sierra Leone | publisher =C. Hurst & Co. Publishers | year =2005  | pages = 26–27 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=OeBYQAFPXxsC&dq=independence+1961&pg=PA34 | isbn =978-1-85065-742-2}}</ref> [[John Bangura]], a formerly dismissed senior officer, was invited to head the army.{{sfn|Fyle|2006|p=XXIII}} Tranquility was not completely restored: in November 1968 a state of emergency was declared after provincial disturbances.
In 1969, the [[University of Sierra Leone]] was set up, comprising [[Fourah Bay College]] and Njala University.{{sfn|Fyle|2006|p=XXIII}}
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]].{{sfn|Fyle|2006|p=XXIII}}
==Governors-General==
The [[Governor-General of Sierra Leone|Governors-General of Sierra Leone]] were:<ref name="WorldStatesmen" />
#[[Maurice Henry Dorman|Sir Maurice Henry Dorman]] (27 April 1961 – 27 April 1962)
#[[Henry Josiah Lightfoot Boston|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)
#[[Banja Tejan-Sie|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 Minister of Sierra Leone|Prime Ministers]] (and [[heads of government]]) of Sierra Leone during this period were:<ref name="WorldStatesmen" />
#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)<sup>a</sup>
#[[Andrew Juxon Smith]] (27 March 1967 – 19 April 1968)<sup>a</sup>
#[[Patrick Conteh]] (19 April 1968 – 26 April 1968)<sup>b</sup>
#[[Siaka Stevens]] (second term) (26 April 1968 – 19 April 1971)
{{smaller|
a. As Chairman of the National Reform Council.<br/>
b. As Chairman of the National Interim Council.
}}
==Transition to a Republic==
[[File:Flag of the Governor-General of Sierra Leone (1961-1971).svg|thumb|Standard of the Governor-General of Sierra Leone, 1961–1971]]
Queen Elizabeth II visited Sierra Leone from 25 November to 1 December 1961, shortly after independence.<ref name="BritishPathé">{{cite web|title=Commonwealth Tours: 1960s|url=https://www.britishpathe.com/workspaces/jhoyle/Commonwealth-Tours-1960s|website=British Pathé|access-date=20 November 2017}}</ref>
Sierra Leone became a [[Republics in the Commonwealth of Nations|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]].<ref name="TheCommonwealth">{{cite web|title=Sierra Leone|url=http://thecommonwealth.org/our-member-countries/sierra-leone|website=The Commonwealth|access-date=20 November 2017}}</ref>
== See also ==
* [[Queen of Sierra Leone|Elizabeth II, Queen of Sierra Leone]]
* [[Medals of Sierra Leone (1961–1971)]]
== References ==
=== Bibliography ===
*{{cite book|last1=Kargbo|first1=Michael S.|title=British Foreign Policy and the Conflict in Sierra Leone, 1991–2001|date=2006|publisher=Peter Lang|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tfW5ACrYksQC&pg=PA70|page=70|isbn=978-3-03910-332-4 }}
*{{Cite book|last=Fyle|first=Magbaily C.|title=Historical Dictionary of Sierra Leone|date=2006|publisher=Scarecrow Press|location=Lanham, Maryland|isbn=978-0-8108-5339-3|pages=XVII–XXII|url=https://archive.org/details/historicaldictio0000fyle}}
=== Notes ===
{{reflist}}
== External links ==
*{{cite web|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/lords/1961/mar/27/sierra-leone-independence-bill |title=SIERRA LEONE INDEPENDENCE BILL (Hansard, 27 March 1961) |website=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]] |date=27 March 1961 |access-date=2017-01-26}}
*{{cite web|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1962/jan/30/sierra-leone-gift-of-a-mace |title=SIERRA LEONE (GIFT OF A MACE) (Hansard, 30 January 1962) |website=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]] |date=30 January 1962 |access-date=2017-01-26}}
*{{cite web|url=https://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=1961-03-22a.391.0 |title=Orders of the Day – Sierra Leone Independence Bill: 22 Mar 1961: House of Commons debates |publisher=TheyWorkForYou |access-date=2017-01-26}}
{{Commonwealth realms}}
{{Former Monarchies}}
{{Sierra Leone topics}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sierra Leone (1961-1971)}}
[[Category:1961 establishments in Sierra Leone]]
[[Category:Former Commonwealth realms]]
[[Category:Government of Sierra Leone]]
[[Category:1960s in Sierra Leone]]
[[Category:Politics of Sierra Leone]]
[[Category:Sierra Leone and the Commonwealth of Nations]]
[[Category:Sierra Leone–United Kingdom relations]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1961]]