Sierra Leone (/siˌɛrə liˈoʊn(i)/ (listen), also UK: /siˌɛərə
-/, US: /ˌsɪərə -/), officially the Republic of Sierra Leone,
informally Salone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa.
It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea to the
northeast. Sierra Leone has a tropical climate with a diverse
environment ranging from savanna to rainforests, a total area of
71,740 km2 (27,699 sq mi) and a population of 7,092,113 as of the 2015
census. The capital and largest city is Freetown. The country is
divided into five administrative regions which are subdivided into
sixteen districts.Sierra Leone achieved independence from Britain on
27 April 1961, led by Milton Margai, who became the country's first
Prime Minister. Sierra Leone held its first general elections as an
Independent nation on May 25, 1962, and Margai's Sierra Leone People's
Party (SLPP) and its allies won the vast majority of seats in
Parliament. Under the leadership of Albert Margai, who was elected by
parliament as Prime Minister in 1964 after the death of his brother
Milton Margai, SLPP narrowly lost the 1967 Sierra Leone parliamentary
election to the main opposition party the All People's Congress (APC),
led by Siaka Stevens, an outspoken critic of the SLPP
government.Stevens ruled Sierra Leone from 1967 to 1985, and during
his time in power, his political opponents and critics of his
government were suppressed; and also several senior officers in the
army were executed after they were convicted to death for several
attempted coups. On 19 April 1971, Stevens' government abolished
Sierra Leone's parliamentary system and declared Sierra Leone a
presidential republic. From 1978 to 1985, president Stevens’ APC
party was the only legal political party in Sierra Leone and all other
parties were banned. Stevens retired as president due to poor health
in 1985.
-/, US: /ˌsɪərə -/), officially the Republic of Sierra Leone,
informally Salone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa.
It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea to the
northeast. Sierra Leone has a tropical climate with a diverse
environment ranging from savanna to rainforests, a total area of
71,740 km2 (27,699 sq mi) and a population of 7,092,113 as of the 2015
census. The capital and largest city is Freetown. The country is
divided into five administrative regions which are subdivided into
sixteen districts.Sierra Leone achieved independence from Britain on
27 April 1961, led by Milton Margai, who became the country's first
Prime Minister. Sierra Leone held its first general elections as an
Independent nation on May 25, 1962, and Margai's Sierra Leone People's
Party (SLPP) and its allies won the vast majority of seats in
Parliament. Under the leadership of Albert Margai, who was elected by
parliament as Prime Minister in 1964 after the death of his brother
Milton Margai, SLPP narrowly lost the 1967 Sierra Leone parliamentary
election to the main opposition party the All People's Congress (APC),
led by Siaka Stevens, an outspoken critic of the SLPP
government.Stevens ruled Sierra Leone from 1967 to 1985, and during
his time in power, his political opponents and critics of his
government were suppressed; and also several senior officers in the
army were executed after they were convicted to death for several
attempted coups. On 19 April 1971, Stevens' government abolished
Sierra Leone's parliamentary system and declared Sierra Leone a
presidential republic. From 1978 to 1985, president Stevens’ APC
party was the only legal political party in Sierra Leone and all other
parties were banned. Stevens retired as president due to poor health
in 1985.
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